


Pop Culture Prepared Us for This

by TheWritingDork



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Additional Tags To Be Added As/When Needed, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Blood, Blood and Gore, Gore, M/M, Mild Gore, Minor Character Death, Stitching, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, bullet wounds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-23 00:21:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 26,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4856141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWritingDork/pseuds/TheWritingDork
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one ever thought that The Last of Us and The Walking Dead would actually prepare people for a zombie apocalypse, but sure enough, it did, and it hit everyone hard. Now Leorio Paladinight, a former medical student, has to deal with these new people who he found after three months of settling into this new apocalyptic lifestyle with a happy-go-lucky nature teenager, a snarky and sly cat-esque teenager, and a blond who seems to know how to kick ass, as well as kick his way into Leorio's head and heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Into The Fresh Hell

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to say thank you all for reading this! Only in this chapter (and others that'll explain backstory) will it be written in first-person POV. All the rest of the chapters will be in third-person, still from Leorio's POV unless explicitly stated otherwise for story-telling purposes (though it'll be extremely rare). 
> 
> Also, thank you to my friend Momma @ pastelkurapika.tumblr.com for the AU of this and details used in this, and my beta readers for this chapter: Edie @ armintie.tumblr.com and Mira @ crumbpika.tumblr.com! 
> 
> You can also find me, Ari, at chainedintimacy@tumblr.com!
> 
> Now on with the story!

Everyone always thinks that things like this are only written in books, or shown on television as some cool entertainment and possible speculation. No one ever wakes up and legitimately thinks that oh, Dracula is real and could suck my blood, or that zombies could actually roam the planet and kill everyone and start the rapture. Well, sometimes things aren’t as you’d expect, and everything goes to shit in ways you didn’t plan.

And of course, people always think it would start out real dramatic, y’know, because hey, look, zombies! They’re all running rampant and eating everyone in front of you! Lots of blood and gore, guts everywhere. No, that wasn’t how it started, at least not for me in the fullest sense of that.

Before hell broke loose on the planet, I was just your average medical student. Not that exciting, right? Well, it surely saved my ass and made me wanted later on, so I’m relieved that what I did then is relevant and needed. I’d been in my college’s program for a few years, so my knowledge relating to everything a doctor needed to know was pretty bulky, thank god. Hell, I was even working in a hospital as a paid intern, earning a steady pay as I learned what to do with other doctors. Everything seemed to be working in my favor, and it looked like I’d be able to graduate sooner than others since I went to school during the summer as well.

The day that it all had started was on Friday morning, last day of the school week. Lately, people seemed to be getting sick with what I had thought was a real shit case of the flu. A lot of kids hadn’t been in school, and you know how college students, especially those in the medical field, will still try to come to class, regardless of how sick they were. Hell, a lot of kids were said to have been hospitalized, and I’d even seen some of my classmates when I was working a day or two before everything went to shit. Of course, it should’ve been a warning to me, now that I look back on it, but I guess it didn’t really bother me then. All I wanted was to finish that week, go to the hospital after school to do my shift, and then head home to crash and sleep in because I could afford to do my homework on Sunday without too much worry.

I was sitting there in class, a decent chunk of the class missing, and we all assumed it was because they were sick. It didn’t really phase us as we all sat there, waiting for the professor to come. During the fifteen minutes we waited when class was to already have started, some kids went and left, assuming the teacher wasn’t coming. Even though I wanted to follow suit, I decided to wait just in case since this professor had a tendency of being late.

 

As I waited, I noticed a kid who sat in one of the seats in the lecture hall with his head face-down, seeming to be shivering. There he was groaning, and I frowned as I watched him. It seemed like he was sick too, and while I felt bad for him, I wish he’d stayed home because I didn’t want to catch whatever he got! I had scooted away a bit, into a seat further from him, and I didn’t really care then if it seemed rude or anything because I had work and school to worry about.

Thankfully, once those fifteen minutes of waiting passed, everyone was hit with brief relief when one of the other professors came in, saying that our teacher had gotten sick as well and wouldn’t be coming in. Everyone went to go and pack up and leave to go home or somewhere else on campus before a different class, and I had done the same. The kid from before seemed to not have moved, and he was just laying his head on the desk still. I thought that maybe he’d fallen asleep, and so I went to wake him.

No, he wasn’t a zombie, at least not yet. He jolted his head up suddenly, scaring the crap outta me. All I did was tell him what the professor who slipped in said, and then everyone else filed out, including the kid. Since I was supposed to have a class a few hours later, instead of walking all the way back to my apartment and then coming back, I decided to just stay on campus and read up on some of the material for my next class instead.

I was all settled into one of the open areas under a canopy, and I’m not too sure exactly how long I was there for since I’d been so zoned into my textbook. By the time I had to take a break from reading, I saw that kid again, slumping around. Really, I had been shaming him in my head for not going home because he seemed sick as a dog. That thought had instantly changed when I saw him going to a group of whom I assumed were his friends and when I saw him chomp into a girl’s shoulder.

Of course, everyone was in shock as the girl screamed out in pain. Some kids at the table had went and pushed the kid away, asking what the hell was wrong with him. None of us knew that he wasn’t human anymore, that logic was beyond him, and neither did the security guards that ran over to stop this mess, but ended up getting lunged at and bit too. By that time, other kids were running away, screaming like any logical person would. 

My instincts were screaming at me to do the same, but I stopped to pack up my textbooks first because those had put me into debt, no way in hell was I leaving money behind. The only thing they ended up being good for were to smack some now-undead student’s heads off. Of course, I didn’t mean to, but those damn things were heavy, and I had a damn good swing going.

Thank god for me that I wasn’t the only one who survived it- I managed to find a few other kids running into one of the rooms where a professor was calling us down towards. We all ran in there, and a few kids had already filled their backpacks with canned goods and water bottles. All of us took a break after he fortified the room, and the only thing that came to us about the situation was that The Walking Dead was a blessing for teaching us what to do.

Somehow, we managed to escape, losing a few kids in the process. We all thought that we could survive with the few bats we had, collected from classrooms teachers had in emergencies, and the food we had. Hell, we even managed to find some guns and ammo! I was sure we’d survive out there, and we did, but only for a few months. One of the others kids did a shit job checking the perimeter one day, and then the camp had gotten overrun.

There was a huge horde of zombies, and they overpowered everyone. I was lucky to make it out, with a backpack of canned food, a can opener, some water bottles, along with a pistol with six bullets and a metal bat in my hand. I had tried to save one girl, but she lagged in shock, and a zombie tugged on her hair and brought her back. She was already a goner when I looked back a second later, and I knew it would be better to power on, to try to get away.

How I did was a mystery to even me, and even now, I’m surprised I made it to this city. Hopefully, I can find some survivors, because there are survivors that set up camp in cities, right? Maybe I should’ve binge-watched The Walking Dead with my classmates when they offered me my freshman year…


	2. Such Shitty Saviors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leorio finds himself inside the city he saw from afar, and he decides that maybe it's a good thing he studied his flashcards to diligently back in college.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been craving to write more of this, and thanks to no homework, here is the second chapter! We get more characters to be introduced, and more will be next chapter as well, but for now, enjoy!
> 
> My only beta reader this time was Mira again ( @ crumbpika.tumblr.com )! Thank you!

Into the city walked Leorio, chest heaving as he carefully treaded on the concrete, white lines beginning to fade on the road. His eyes glanced around as he tried to see if there were any signs of life or those of the undead. Relief washed over him as he didn’t see or hear any undead, but was disappointed to see no living either. Maybe this town was just abandoned? It would be just his luck too, especially after he just lost his camp a few days back, and he was running on his last days’ worth of canned food and water.

He felt like he was down to his last whim as he wandered around the desolate city, a frown seeming to be etched onto his matured face, a larger stubble having grown from the disuse of a razor in the past fourth of a year. Everything felt near the end for him, whether it was how long he could stand that long stubble or his disgusting clothes, or the fact he was alone and didn’t really know how to survive alone. Was he nearing his own end? That was what he feared as he treaded, especially when he ran into the side of a car that seemed to have parked lopsidedly, half on the road, half on the sidewalk, in his dazed-out thoughts.

Relief spread through him as no car alarm went off. Lucky him, right? Well, even if it didn’t alert any possible zombies within the area by a car’s excessive blaring, the ones that had been lurking near the car certainly heard the sound of him running into the vehicle, as well as his excessively-loud ‘oof.’ From behind and around the car, even under, came the ungodly sounds of the undead that he, sadly, had become accustomed to. A cry of surprise escaped him as he backed up, unfortunately into a situation where he was surrounded on all sides by gross, reanimated corpses, ready to bite into some of the living’s tender, succulent flesh.

Nearly frozen in shock and fear, he raised his bat, ready to swing it into the head of the nearest zombie, but someone seemed to beat him to the punch- or, in this case, the shot. The gun shot rang out in his ears as the zombie fell in front of him, and the others fell near him as more shots were fired from a place he couldn’t pinpoint currently. Leorio managed to swing in one of the zombie’s heads, and that made him smile before he went and tried to identify where those shots came from. They had to be other survivors, and survivors meant help. Yes, his prayers were going to be answered!

Well, at least that was what he thought as he heard the footsteps of people running over. When he looked over at the people exiting a nearby building, he was able to see a quick blur of blond hair, unable to tell if it belonged to a boy or a girl, before he felt a sudden stinging on his cheek, his eyes wide as he stared at the blond who delivered it in shock. He was about to start yelling, crying out obscenities until he saw the glare that made him want to curl in on himself and apologize profusely and it came from someone who seemed near a foot shorter than himself!

“Woah, Kurapika!” cried out someone who managed to just catch up to the person standing in front of Leorio, chest heaving as their hands seem to curl into tight fists. The person who seemed to call the blond ‘Kurapika’ frowned, looking surprisingly similar to Leorio with the darker skin, though it was clear he wasn’t of Spanish background like him, but he had a near identical hairstyle, just a bit fluffier. “He didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Oh, sweet,” muttered out another teen that was by the person who, if he didn’t know better, he could consider a relative. That teen who resembled Leorio so well groaned, muttering out a name that sounded along the lines of ‘kill you’ before elbowing the white-haired teen in the side. The teen who got elbowed gave the taller one a look, frowning. “What? I didn’t do anything, idiot- it was the old man for being a moron.”

“Me? I didn’t do anything!” Leorio defended, snapping out of the daze of being held in the one he assumed was Kurapika’s heated glare, eyes narrowing. “I was going to be perfectly fine with defending myself!”

“Sure, with a metal bat that looks bent to hell and a pistol with what? Six bullets at most? You looked capable of taking out the entire lot of the seven of them.” The blonde groaned, going and kicking a nearby piece of rubble from the ground, hitting one of the corpses on the ground as they shouldered the strap of their shot gun. “Now our entire run is ruined because of you, and we need to leave before more of them come. We weren’t even finished scavenging. Hell, we haven’t even been here an entire hour yet, and then you came and ruined it. I was so tempted to leave you, but your screams would’ve just attracted more as well.”

Leorio stood there, taken aback by the other’s small, heated rant at him. It took him a moment to speak up, as he stepped forward towards the other. “That didn’t mean you had to slap me, you asshole!”

That seemed to just tick off the short and terrifying blond as they groaned loudly, turning and walking down the street, away from Leorio. “Gon, Killua, let’s get going. We need to get out of here before more of those zombies show up.”

“Wait, you can’t just leave me, not after all that trouble you went through for me,” said the Spanish male, nervously looking towards the two teenagers near him for any help. The taller of the two gave a nervous smile, shrugging in apology as the shorter just gave him a small peace sign before beginning to follow the person he still had to assume was Kurapika’s lead. 

“Sorry, mister!” said the younger-looking version of him as the white-haired kid called for him, and he now knew that his mini version of himself was named Gon. That wouldn’t matter much if he never saw them again though, and so he tried to think quickly on his feet to keep them from going. 

“Good luck, old man,” called out Killua, and they were about to turn around the block corner when Leorio finally put one and two together, a smile of pride from his realization hitting his face as he stepped forward, away from the pile of corpses that were really starting to reek, way worse than before.

“You don’t want to leave a doctor alone, now do you?”

Instantly, the three all stopped in their tracks. Staring back at Leorio, the two teens were the first to speak up.

“Do you think that he could be a doctor, Killua?” 

“Well, he certainly looks like he could fit the bill with how damn old he is.”

“I’m not old, I’m only twenty-two!” Leorio defended with a large frown, though he focused his vision back on the blond, instead of the teens in shock, as they walked over, standing in front of him with a hand on their hip.

“How do you fix a broken leg?” The sudden question took everyone by surprise, but the shorter just barked up at him. “If you’re supposed to be a doctor, or at least were trying to become one before the world went to shit, you should know how to do something as simple as that. So tell me, how the hell do you-“

“With what we have now, you would have to do your best to reset the bone and put it back into place, and then you’d place a splint around it to immobilize it so it has time to heal without use. Surgeries and rods would be needed if extremely critical, but that isn’t an option anymore.” A more serious look overtook Leorio now, as he kept his gaze even with the one staring up at him. 

Seeming to be satisfied, another question was drilled at him. “What about a dislocated shoulder?”

“Normally, it’s preferred to reduce the dislocation and move the humeral head back into its proper place, but with what we have now, you’d have to do a manual relocation, which is a lot more painful. The patient will either be sitting up and lying down, and the doctor goes and attempts to rotate the shoulder blade, which will cause the humeral head to dislodge itself and will then cause instantaneous relocation. Typically, an assistant is there to help stabilize the arm.”

A disgusted hacking noise escaped the shorter teenager, pointing to the back of his throat at all of this medical talk that was getting into detail Killua didn’t like, even if he mowed down zombies with his gun. Leorio went and rolled his eyes at him, ignoring him for the most part as he continued answering the other’s barrage of questions about how to treat other injuries and such, as well as some diseases and sicknesses.

After what seemed like forever, but was honestly only three minutes at most, the blond sighed as they looked away. “Well, is he coming with us, Kurapika?” asked Gon, staring at the person with anticipation.

“… Yes, he’s coming with us.”

“Yeah! Did you hear that Killua?! He said the doctor’s gonna come back with us!”

“Shut up, you idiot, or you’ll attract more of them!” Instantly, the hands Gon had clung to Killua’s shoulders shot back to his side, an apologetic look overtaking his face as he scratched at the side of his neck.

Leorio, though, was filled with relief, knowing he wasn’t going to get left behind to die. “Oh, you won’t regret bringing me along, I promise it.”

“We’ll see about that.” The Spanish male raised an eyebrow, about to ask what the hell Kurapika meant until he felt a sudden sharp pain in his face, radiating straight from his nose as there was a sudden flare of excruciating pain. Was he hit again?!

The last things he heard when he fell backwards towards the ground was Gon scolding Kurapika, saying how he shouldn’t be doing that, with Kurapika defending himself by saying it would be easier, especially if he ends up just being deadweight that they don’t need so he doesn’t know how to get to Lusko. Before he could even process what he heard, everything faded to the black that had started to overtaken his vision after the punch square in the nose.

 

A sharpness of pain in his head, radiating from his nose, was what woke up Leorio from his unconscious slumber. Groaning, he went to rub at the sore spot, wincing when he felt it to be bent out of place. He hadn’t even opened his eyes, but he could feel the dry blood underneath his nostrils, a sigh escaping him as he sat up from where he seemed to be laying, finally opening his eyes.

“So you’re finally awake.” The familiar voice had Leorio’s eyes trained on the familiar blond figure, hissing at the light shining in from a nearby window. A hand went and covered his eyes as the other person in the room sighed. “I was thinking that I had hit you a bit too hard for you to handle. Gon was rambling on about how I put our doctor into a concussion only a doctor would know how to help with, so I can at least tell him I don’t have that strong of a right-hook yet.”

“Yeah, you fucking broke my nose!” Leorio cried out, frowning as he prodded at the cartilage, a wince escaping him. He went and adjusted his glasses that he somehow managed to keep throughout all this hellscape, not a crack or scratch on it, up on top of his head. “Dear god, it stings.”

“Oh, don’t be such a baby. You’re in the zombie apocalypse for fuck’s sake, you have to deal with worse than this on a daily basis.” As Kurapika spoke, he went and walked over to Leorio, observing him up close. It was then that Leorio was finally able to get a good look at the male, taking in the paler skin, a few scars littered across his cheeks and his chin, though quite faint, even on such fair and light skin. His eyes reminded him of the color of the expensive liquor he always wanted to buy in the store when he was having a night in with some of his college friends, but he was always too poor to afford. There just seemed to be a natural glow to him that struck him as beautiful, yet terrifying.

He was pulled out of trying to memorize these little details on the other’s face when he felt a pinching thumb and forefinger on the bone on top of his nose, as well as another pair on the side, onto the cartilage. His eyes widened as he realized just what the other was about to do right as he did it, a sudden twang of pain hitting him like getting hit with a basketball chucked at your face by an NBA player wanting to nail you for insulting his family.

When Kurapika pulled away, seeming to be satisfied with his work, there was a brief moment of silence as they made eye contact. Not even five seconds passed when the after-pain struck Leorio, a loud cry, similar to an exotic animal’s squawking, escaping his lips as he doubled over where he sat, hands covering his nose. “Holy fucking shit, ow!”

“Seriously, you’re being a baby. Gon didn’t even cry when I relocated his shoulder with Killua.” Leorio just continued to curse under his breath, muttering some Spanish phrases that Kurapika surely would’ve been pissed to hear if he understood the language. Thank his lucky stars that the blond didn’t seem to take up the language in high school, because he just went over and gave the other an ice pack wrapped in a hand towel. “If it really hurts that bad, which it shouldn’t now, keep this there.”

Huffing at the other’s insinuation of his incompetence, Leorio wanted to argue, but he was favoring just placing the ice pack on his nose for a bit until the pain subsided or for the thing to make his nose numb- whichever came first was fine. “Hey, I haven’t really broken something since I was in high school about six or so years ago, so I sort of forgot how badly this kind of shit hurt.”

Kurapika only sighed, rolling his eyes as he went and walked over to the doorway, leaning against it as he looked around the room. For the first time since he did wake up, Leorio actually took the time to focus on the room around him. There seemed to be a big cabinet in the corner, filled with a variation of medical supplies, some smaller equipment, and other miscellaneous medical supplies he remember having been familiar with months upon months ago in the hospital. A fondness settled inside him, of once was that he could no longer have, but maybe he could have some resemblance to it here. 

Strewn in the room laid what seemed to be a makeshift examination table pushed against one wall, a twin-sized bed on the other wall across from it, a window right beside it on the wall. Next to the cabinet, to its right sat a desk, a filing cabinet on the desk’s right as well. There was a comfortable chair there as well, or so it looked, with papers stacked onto a corner, all blank with some writing utensils next to it. And there he sat, sitting in the corner of the room beside the twin-sized bed, and he recognized it to be like the chairs he was used to in high school.

“This is the office you’ll be working in as the doctor, but you’re going to be on watch by some other people to make sure you don’t try any shit. Even if you were clean of anything after our check, we’re still not going to take it easy on a st-“

“Wait, you checked me?! Geez, none of you have any personal boundaries!”

“When it comes to the safety of the community we have here, we take no risks.” Instantly, Leorio shut up, seeing how serious Kurapika was being about this. Still, he felt quite violated, crossing his arms protectively over his chest as he muttered about how they better not have had an extremely thorough examination. “And since you’re going to be staying in this community, and it might be possible that it’s permanent, you might as well be shown around, so come on.”

The mention, though, of an actual community had him curious. He went and looked out the window in the room, beside the twin bed, and gasped at the sight. It was, like Kurapika said, a community, functioning just like nothing had ever happened- well, if you excluded the fact some people were casually walking around with guns strapped to them or slung over their shoulders. The whole thing baffled Leorio, and he didn’t snap out of it until he heard the other whistle sharply, to which he turned around, the ice pack still pressed against his nose.

“Come on, old man, let’s get going.”

“I already told you that I’m only twenty-two, and the name’s Leorio!” With a sigh, he went and placed down the ice pack on the desk before walking over to Kurapika.

“Mmm, like the French version of an Oreo?”

“Very funny, smart guy. If only I was French, but sadly for you, I’m Spanish.” 

“Oh, what a shame. I’m Kurapika.” With that, the shorter of the two went and stopped leaning on the frame, going and walking out of the room. “Come on, let’s get going- we’re burning daylight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GEEZ KURAPIKA, YOU SAVAGE. Poor Oreo.


	3. The Quick Round-A-Bout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is over a month late! I've been going through some fresh hells, and I've been keeping this on the back burner. This chapter's a little shorter as well, but I wanted to post it since I wanted to add the other scenes in this for the next chapter. I wanted to keep a schedule up with this, but I don't know with life right now and a busier school life. If you want more frequent updates, follow me @ chainedintimacy.tumblr.com ! c:  
> Also, my beta readers ATM aren't around, so I had to reread through and used some testing sites. If there are any issues, let me know! <3 Thanks again, and sorry for the shorter chapter once again.

How normal the whole community seemed to be despite of the state the world was in still shocked the Spanish male as he walked with his guide. He couldn’t help but whistle at the sight of what seemed to be a home that was converted into a soup kitchen for the community, the scent of tomato soup emitting from the home. “You guys got enough tomato soup to feed this entire place?”

“Yes, one of the group of runners, like Gon, Killua, and I, went to the shopping mall district yesterday, so they must’ve found a motherlode. As you’ve guessed, that home is now our kitchen for everyone, and we all go and get our food ration for breakfast, lunch, and dinner there. Sometimes, if we’re lucky, there’s a dessert call, but the last one was over a month ago.”  The mention of the possibility of dessert had Leorio standing up a bit taller, a smile on his lips. “We managed to find a few cans of chocolate pudding, and everyone got a bowl full of it.”

Humming in response, he couldn’t help but admire how nice Kurapika looked with a smile on his plumper, fuller lips. Instead of pointing it out though, as he was sure he’d get an earful of it, he continued to walk beside him, tugging at the strings of his hoodie he’d kept from that day everything went to shit.

His guide continued to point out all the different places in this community- the stockade where the weapons were held and guarded at all times, the small pavilion area that was meant for community meetings, though it could easily serve as a playground for the kids too with the small jungle gym set and swings, and a multitude of other small places Leorio committed to memory.

While they walked, the former medical student began to notice that this place had once been a gated community, as he could see from the large walls surrounding the perimeter. Those walls seems to of been fortified, as the height had been increased noticeably from the different materials at a certain point, as well as the spear tips at the top of the large wall. Around the wall stood a duo every so often, armed as they seemed to be doing some sort of guard duty. The tight security they kept made him feel, well, secure.

Eventually, they made it to a large gate, towers that seemed to of been finished recently on one side of it, like a guard tower. Though, it clearly was just a guard house that use to be there when this community had just been that, before everything went to shit. “This is where we come in and out from if we need to go on runs or recruit people, but we haven’t gone out on recruitment in a while,” Kurapika explained, pointing over to the guard tower where a man stood, with black hair and narrowed eyes as he looked out at the area.

The man seemed to spot them nearby, and he waved, smiling over at the two. Leorio couldn’t help but wave back, being polite as he could as he saw Kurapika doing the same. “That’s Jati, the leader of our community. Everyone here has a great amount of respect for him.”

“Oh, really?” He went and looked at the man who went and focused back to whoever he happened to be talking to. “He seems more like a pacifist. He doesn’t seem like the kind of person to run a community in this kind of world.”

“When people are pushed into situations, sometimes they do things you’d never expect and sometimes they change.” With a nonchalant shrug, he went and turned around to walk back, using a two-fingered gesture to silently tell Leorio to follow. Of course, he did just that, glancing back over at Jati before walking back with Kurapika.

Kurapika went and walked with him back to the place he’d woken up, sighing as he did so. “For the next week, you have to stay in here on probation.” His eyebrows narrowed as Leorio was about to speak, which shut him right the hell up. “Like I said before while I was showing you around, even if you don’t mean to harm us, not everyone around here knows that. We have to be careful, so you’re staying here. You’ll have people bringing you your meals in the meanwhile, and if someone comes around in need of help, you have to help them. Even if you have the medical information on how to help someone, it means nothing if you can’t apply it.”

Of course Leorio understood this, even if he still wanted to not be put on such suspicions. They had people who tried to migrate their way into his little camp, but they were always denied. All of them never wanted to take the risk of someone killing them in their sleep, being a traitor of some kind. “Alright, alright. Thank you for the chance, though.”

“Well, it’s more the fact we’re in desperate need of a doctor that you got lucky. Our nurse ended up having to be put down because she got too sick and couldn’t care for herself a few weeks back. I hope we don’t ever have to do the same for you.” Just the mere thought of that sent goosebumps down Leorio’s skin as he watched Kurapika leave his house.

He went and looked around the small house he’d be given. It seemed downstairs was set up to work like a doctor’s office, while upstairs was where he’d be staying. There was a small, simple bedroom, a working bathroom (for the most part), and even a little living room for him if people ever came over to hang out with him. The thought of this eventually being his permanent home here made him smile, the thought of some resemblance of life before the world went to shit.

 He couldn’t help but be giddy like a child at the thought, going into the living room and splaying out across the large couch. Maybe he could live here and make friends again, have something like a family.

Maybe.


	4. Getting Through The First Phase

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is more than a month overdue! I've been extremely busy with school and all, but I managed to finish this! I hope to be able to crank another one out (possibly) before my Winter Break, and then one or two more during the break itself! Meanwhile, though, let's get to the good stuff! If you want to follow me and see my activity, follow me at chainedintimacy.tumblr.com! Thanks, and now let's really get started with the chapter!

Ever since Leorio had been instated as the doctor and put under, basically, house arrest, he had been visited by a multitude of people. There were people he had to help patch up, like those who returned from runs in need of medical aid, and others were those who were to bring him one of his three meals a day. The people who brought his meals were more than off, but he figured that those kinds of people would be more likely to survive this kind of shit. They included people like this weird guy who somehow managed to keep his hair a bubblegum pink despite everything (he must of known a few people who could stockpile some hair dyes for him), a short and stocky man who seemed to want to fuck him over and smelt worse than shit itself, as well as this man who seemed to act like a stereotypical ninja. Either way, he wasn’t too fond of those folks when they came around, and glad they didn’t stick around for much past idle chatter.

It was about four days since he started his duties as the community’s doctor when he finally had interesting people to converse with that didn’t creep him out completely. The boy named Gon from when he had been picked up and saved came with his steaming hot lunch of a sloppy joe and water. He had arrived when Leorio was taking inventory of his current supplies so he could jot down what he needed for whoever was going on a run for medical supplies the next day. Because of this, the teen’s sudden cry startled the elder.

“HEY LEORIO!” Jumping at that, he nearly took down the small drawer out of the dresser with him, the whole dresser itself nearly falling down with him as he cried out in surprise. He was dazed for a moment since his head had made rough contact with the floor below, though he was able to focus on above him rather quickly, especially since a darker-skinned face with black hair popped into his vision. “Sorry, did I startle you?”

“Yeah, but its fine,” he muttered out as he slowly sat up, groaning as he rubbed the back of his noggin. 

“Oh, good! I brought you your lunch!” Listening to the clatter of his tray being placed on his work desk, the former medical student thanked the teenager under his breath as he slowly sat up, stretching his arms above his head as he did so.

As he walked over to the desk, he hummed, a smile on his face at the hot meal. “I’m still surprised you guys are able to cook hot meals…”

“It’s all thanks to the solar panels we found when all this started and set up! Someone we helped save here helped us set them up, and they’ve been helping us ever since!”

“Really now?” Thinking about that, he sat down at his desk before he began to dig into his meal. By now, he was expecting Gon to go after he nodded to his little question, but he just sat down on the patient bed in the room instead.

Glancing over at the teen, he watched his legs kick to and fro as it dangled off the edge, and he swallowed his bite before clearing the semi-awkward silence lingering in the air. “So, how do you know Kurapika and Killua? Did you know them before all of this or did you meet them both here?”

“Oh! I knew Killua for a long time before we came here, but Kurapika and his father we met when everything went to hell.” Leorio nodded in understanding, thinking he would stop there, but he seemed to continue to elaborate instead.

“Killua and I met up near a park after I had to kill my aunt in the hospital because she had turned into one of those zombies.” He lifted up the odd half-necklace around his neck as he looked at Leorio, whose eyes were wide. “This was her necklace. I couldn’t leave without having something to remember her by.

“But anyways, Killua and I met up, and we both were running down the highway, having grabbed branches for weapons. We ran into Kurapika and his father, and they picked us up and drove us back here and we all built the community together. Since then, Killua, Kurapika, and I have been a team together to go scavenging!”

Leorio was frowning at what Gon had to do, especially since he must have been so distraught about it but hid it well. He decided it was better not to scratch at the healing wound, especially since Gon already did, and picked up on a different part of the briefing he was given. “What happened to Kurapika’s father?”

“He’s still around!”

“Really?”

“Mhmm! You met him already though, Jati! He helped build this community, especially since he and Kurapika used to live here before everything went to shit. They even live in the same house still.” 

“Wait, what?!” That man who resembled nothing of Kurapika, with the darker hair, more masculine build, and friendlier exterior, was his father?! “I was just introduced to him as Jati, the leader. Kurapika didn’t mention he was his dad!”

Gon shrugged at that as he played with the ends of his fingers while his legs still kicked off the edge of the bed. “I guess he didn’t trust you enough at the time to tell you any of that. After all, he treats all new people like they’re enemies. He only really let you in because I begged and because of the fact you were going to school to be a doctor, especially since our old medical know-how person is dead.” 

“Oh… Well, that makes sense,” muttered out Leorio before he continued to eat at his sloppy joe, not wanting it to go cold before he finished practically devouring it all. 

The two continued with idle chatter, exchanging basic information and becoming better acquainted with one another until Killua, the white-haired boy from before as well, waltzed in.

“Yo, Gon, Kurapika wants us to practice some shooting with the kids and teach them better skills!” he said as he leaned against the doorway of the office. Leorio hadn’t even heard him come in, which had him nearly falling out of his seat in surprise. Luckily for him, he was able to catch himself before he did so, but it still had the other teenager grinning, resembling a sly cat, or maybe more like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.

“Oh, right!” He quickly got up from his seat on the bed, rushing past Leorio as he said his farewells to him, grabbing his tray, now devoid of anything to drink or eat since the elder had finished eating a while ago.

“See ‘ya later, old man,” was all Killua said, waving his hand at him for a moment before he was seemingly gone in an instant.

Frowning at the nickname he had seemed to earn, he muttered under his breath on how he wasn’t fond of that and how he wasn’t old before he continued to work at taking inventory of what little medical supplies he was stocked up with. Though, he wasn’t only frowning because of that, but also due to the little bit of backstory he had gotten on him and Killua, as well as Kurapika. It made him think about what other horrors they had survived through, and he couldn’t help but feel compassionate towards them, even Kurapika who had been a big dick to him, though understandable.

Sadly, Gon nor Killua came back for the next few days, and it was a few normal folks as well as the odd folks again that served him his meals. He missed having someone he could sit down and have some form of a conversation that wasn’t about how someone messed themselves up or idle chatter that lasted longer than a minute or two.

He didn’t have some semblance of a conversation until a week had passed since he had been put on probation. It was supposed to end today, but knowing how people seemed to work here, it would probably be longer and no one would explain why. At least, that was what he expected until Kurapika popped in, silent just like Gon and Killua, clearing his throat and startling Leorio.

The slightly-scarred blond didn’t comment as he crossed his arms over his chest, acting like a mother waiting for their child to get themselves in order before they started speaking to them. Leorio normally would’ve barked back, asking what his deal was, but this was Kurapika, the son of the leader and he was quite intimidating before he had even learned this fact from Gon. He quickly collected himself, standing up as he dusted his pants off, causing the shorter of the two to raise an eyebrow. No questions were asked though, and Kurapika began to speak before Leorio could think of asking or saying anything to him.

“From what we’ve observed and heard, we’ve decided that your probation at home is over, and you can now start walking around. Though, when you leave, it can only be when you’re accompanied by someone else.”

“Wait, what? I thought you said my probation would be over after a week!”

“I meant just the at-home probation.” Leorio grimaced down at the shorter male, grumbling under his breath as well, but the look he was shot had him shut up and continue to grumble angrily in his mind.

“You’ll be able to walk around to the meals, and then you’ll get to talk with people and learn more about the community, but that doesn’t guarantee that you’re staying. It just means you’ve passed the first part of the test and are going to the second part.”

“You know, I thought that once the world ended, that meant that any form of testing went with it.” His remark was shot down by another glare, and he just pouted this time. Why did Kurapika, the seeming buzzkill, have to be the one to hear such a witty line? Gon would’ve appreciated that for sure, maybe even Killua.

“You will have Gon escorting you to breakfast every morning unless he is out on a mission, Killua for lunch unless the same reason applies, and Hisoka will be taking you to dinners.” The last name had Leorio raising an eyebrow in question, to which Kurapika sighed with a frown before elaborating. “The guy who has the dyed hair, all pink.”

“Oh!” There was a few seconds of silence, and it seemed like Kurapika was going to speak up again before Leorio cut him off. “Why that weirdo?!”

“Because, now shut up and listen.” The irritated look and pout were ignored as the blond continued. “That’s your schedule until further notice, and you are only to report to the dining hall for meals. If I find out you go anywhere else or somehow sneak pass those three, which should be impossible, you will go back to at-home probation for another week. Understand?”

“Yes sir.” The ‘sir’ had Kurapika frowning, but he didn’t address it as he nodded and then left, seeming to finish anything and everything he had to tell Leorio for now.

The community doctor then flopped back onto the patient’s bed, staring up at the ceiling as he contemplated how everything seemed to be going. Hopefully, he could go out on his own soon, and maybe win over some more trust from Kurapika. He didn’t want to be stuck on the little shit’s bad side forever, even if he was a little shit. Gon seemed to see good in him, so he had to be a good person. He wanted to see that good side of him, and maybe see him smile since he never seemed to. 

He thought these things before deciding to take a nap, especially since he had no one to care for. Maybe things would work out in his favor. Maybe he could get Kurapika to smile. Maybe he could become better friends with him, Gon, and Killua. These were all things he thought before drifting off into a peaceful sleep, curled up onto the bed since his legs would dangle off the end of the bed otherwise.


	5. His Second Group

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to crank out a second chapter, the day before Finals Week as well! x_x Wowie, glad I got this done!! Hopefully there will be more chapters during break (as I plan to be writing one, hopefully two, chapters during that time span). I hope you guys like this chapter, though it's more build-up to the next one more than anything else. Also, we have two characters being introduced! B) Heck yeah! (If you want to see more activity from me btw, follow me @ chainedintimacy.tumblr.com!)

Even if he was still held under ridiculous probations to show he wasn’t a danger- seriously though, wasn’t that proven when he was picked up- to the community and its people, Leorio wasn’t too bothered to be accompanied to the dining hall. Sure, he was still prisoner in his house a majority of the time, but now he could wander around outside his home/workplace. 

Gon often woke him up in the mornings and was pleasant company, and Killua in the afternoon for lunch wasn’t too bad if he ignored his smart-ass remarks that prodded fun at him. Really, both of them were genuinely nice teenagers, and he seemed to notice through interactions at meals that maybe the two teenagers were more than friends with how Gon loved to tease Killua, succeeding nearly every time in making him furiously blush. It always had him smiling, showing that there was still that teenage innocence in such a cruel and unforgiving world they now lived in.

The one who weirded him out, though, was Hisoka. How he was able to have such bright, bubblegum pink hair in the zombie apocalypse baffled him at first. Plus, he was always just… really creepy whenever Leorio talked to him. Though, he learned after a while that he wasn’t too fond of him, especially when he continually side glanced Killua and Gon’s butts. He felt himself go into a protective mode whenever this would happen, and it just seemed to amuse this creepy man more so, but he would back off for the time being.

It seemed either Gon never noticed or he did and just ignored it, but Killua seemed to get protective and defensive as well whenever he saw, more concerned about Gon than his own ass being oogled. The looks Hisoka got scared the shit out of Leorio, even if they weren’t meant for him, but those seemed to only entertain Hisoka as well, which got both the white-haired teen and the elder of the trio pissed.

Besides that, though, being walked around wasn’t too bad. He did get to take in the scenery and get more familiar with the places he passed to and from his meals. There were a few people he’d see from his walks, including the short, stocky man named Tonpa that really smelt. Maybe the guy just didn’t have running water in his house… He also saw a smaller woman named Melody that he grew fond of whenever she joined him and the two teenagers during his meals, as well as a tall and built man who looked like he took steroids before everything happened named Basho, though he seemed to really just be a big softie on the inside. He was told by Gon that those two were the other members of Kurapika’s second group.

“His second group?” A questioning eyebrow was raised as he glanced over at Melody who happened to be sitting with them at the time.

A soft smile appeared on her more delicate lips before she begun explaining. “Kurapika, Basho, and I are all members of the runner group that goes the furthest away from camp to get supplies. Sometimes we are away for days, sometimes weeks, but we’ve only had one mission that was weeks, and that wasn’t even two weeks. Normally, it’s two or three days and we’re getting the harder to obtain supplies that Jati specially asks for, like the supplies for the solar panels and to help make a more concrete foundation for the walls.”

“Ah, I see.” Leorio nodded in understanding after taking another bite from his bland chili. “So you guys can never find things like good sauces for the foods?”

That had Melody chuckling for a moment before shaking her head. “Either they’ve all been used up or they’ve already gone bad. The only thing I could offer would be salt or pepper, but those stay in the cafeteria to be used for foods, and even then, it’s scarcely used.”

“Bummer.”

“Yes, I know. I wish we could have something besides this bland food we get three times a day,” Melody hummed out before she took another bite of her meatloaf. “Maybe during one run, someone will find something like honey. I would love to have some honey again.”

“Especially if I could get someone to make teas with it for any patients that ever happen to get sick,” Leorio added as he drank some of his water.

“Oh, yes, that would be lovely.” The elder couldn’t help but smile at the woman, feeling eased just by her presence alone, let alone her talking and speaking in such a soothing, melodic tone. Her namesake really did fit her, huh.

 

It was about a week of being on his second phase of probation when he saw a commotion near the entrance of the community. Since he was with Gon, having left the mess hall for breakfast, he was taken over, hand held by the teenager as so they wouldn’t get lost. If he had been with anyone else, he wouldn’t have been led astray from his path home, so he was glad he was with this boy so he could know more about what was going on in his community. 

He could see the form of Melody and Basho as he closed in, and his chest clenched up as he saw Kurapika was there as well, getting an SUV set up. From what he had learned from the woman of the trio, he knew exactly what was going down. It worried him severely, no matter how qualified they were to do this, and he stayed by Gon as he ran over to the blond.

“Kurapika!” It seemed to catch him by surprise, as he turned around and was instantly enveloped into a hug. “You didn’t tell me or Killua that you were going out for a long run.” A frown was evident on the teen’s lips as far as Leorio could see from his vantage point, but it was hard to see from the angle he was at.

“It was a last-minute thing my father told us to do, Gon. We need to go out and get a few more medical supplies that we can’t find nearby and we’re going to see if we can just find some more food,” Kurapika explained as he returned the hug, holding the darker-skinned male closer. “Maybe we’ll try to find some more clothes, blankets, and all the necessary stuff.”

“Oh, OK.” Gon held onto Kurapika for a few more seconds before they had to part, going to make sure they had everything in the vehicle. 

“Don’t worry, kid, we’ll do our best to make sure Kurapika doesn’t kill himself,” Basho said as he patted the top of Gon’s head, making a small smile of reassurance form. A small ‘hey’ from near the trunk of the car had both Basho and Gon laughing, and the whole sight, though it was supposed to be solemn, made Leorio smile a little as well. They were all so tightly-knit, akin to a family, and he really hoped that he could be like that with everyone here.

Gon was told he had to get back, as did any others who were lingering, as Melody got into the passenger’s seat, Basho in the driver’s seat, and Kurapika in the backseat. It wasn’t long until they were waving at everyone before the nearby gate was opened by Jato from the guard’s station, allowing Basho to drive off. The teenager sighed as he looked back over to Leorio, giving him a big grin as he took his hand. “We should get going back to your home now. Kurapika told me to once they left.”

“Ah, alright.” He didn’t argue with the younger as they began to do just that, though he glanced over his shoulder at the shutting gate as the car vanished out of sight. “… Has Kurapika nearly died while out there from being reckless?”

“Not so much when he is with me and Killua, but Melody and Basho tell me he is when he’s with them. I guess that’s because he’s more worried about looking out for us when we’re together since we’re not at his level.” Leorio frowned at that, though he understood. “I mean, you know those scars on his face? He already got those when we saw him the day everything went bad. They were fresh too, so I guess he can get into trouble? I don’t know, but he tries not when with us.”

“That’s understandable, Gon.” Hearing just that much about Kurapika had his chest aching- he had these scars since everything started? He already had a brush with Death then, yet he could be reckless still…

He was dragged out of those thoughts as Gon tugged him forward, as his pace began to slow in the slightest. Leorio made sure to speed up, keeping up with the younger male as they hurried back to his house in case there were any other patients in need of him. Even still, he hoped this trip wouldn’t take too long, as Melody warned him previously on how it could.


	6. Having Your Work Cut Out For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing this an hour and a half before midnight and finished ten minutes after midnight, so I started the new year with sinning. There is more graphical content in this chapter, and if you do not like that junk (you'll get the context clues of it and what it'll entail as you read, I promise), I will mark when you need to stop reading and when you can start again by italicizing and bolding the starting word in the paragraph it'll start in and the first word in the paragraph where it's done. But yes, I promised a chapter over break, and here it is! It's also 2.5k words so hell yeah me. B)))

Leorio’s hopes of the mission not taking too long were crushed after a week passed at the camp. He desperately hoped each day that arrived would be the day they would return, but it was always diminished when he felt himself drifting off into another round of sleep. This carried on for about two and a half weeks, and its effect on the people closer to the trio that had left was obvious.

Gon was worried, though it was hard to tell with how good he was of keeping an optimistic front. He was a little clingier to Leorio and Killua though, and the two clearly noticed this during the meals. Both tried to comfort him in little ways, and from what Leorio could see, it was at least somewhat helping.

Killua was harder to tell with how he was keeping up. He was always more dismissive with his feelings, especially around Leorio. There were moments, though, when the ‘doctor’ could tell he was worried, when his defenses dropped for a moment or two. Those moments were scarce over those near three weeks.

Of course, Leorio was doing his normal doctor routine with any patients that needed him, but Gon and Killua suggested something else.

“Practice?”

“Yeah, practice. Are you sure you aren’t an old man, because your hearing tells me otherwise,” Killua said, leaning into a palm during one breakfast on the seventeenth day of the trio’s absence. “Like what Kurapika does with us, but not as intense. We don’t want our doctor to get knocked out or put in a coma because we didn’t take it easy on him.”

Of course, Leorio took offense, saying how he was capable of taking care of himself, but it just made Killua’s cat-like grin widen. “Anyway, even if Kurapika isn’t around, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if we helped you start to practice and train. If anything ever happens, you need to learn how to take care of yourself. I’m not saying you don’t know how to already, but the more practice and training, the better, right?”

“Well, you do have a point there…” He rubbed his chin in thought then, really considering this now. “It would be good, especially when I have those long stretches of time to do nothing.”

“Exactly!” Gon grinned at the eldest of the three then, hands nearly slamming down on the table. “So, will you?”

Leorio couldn’t help but smile at Gon, reaching over and ruffling his hair before speaking up. “Sure, why the hell not.”

The black-haired teenager cried out in joy, startling the white-haired teen sitting beside him. “Heck yeah! We get to be your personal trainers, Leorio! We should get started-“

Before he could give a time or date of when he planned to start, someone rushed in, calling out for the doctor, Leorio. The voice, familiar, rung in his ears for a moment as his stomach dropped, especially when he heard the panic in her voice. Turning around, he quickly got up as the shorter woman made it over. “What’s going on, Melody?”

“It’s Kurapika, he really needs you.”

 

There was already a forming crowd around the car that had gone away a few weeks ago, and Jati and some of the people who stood guard right by the gates were there trying to calm and disperse the crowd. As Melody was leading him over, people seemed to part out of the way for her and Leorio, but he wasn’t focused on that or people’s nosiness. No, he was laser-focused in on his patient, especially as he heard small retorts, saying from inside the car that Basho was leaning into that he was fine.

“I wouldn’t call you bleeding out something that’s fine, Kurapika.” A heavy sigh passed the built man’s lips as he glanced over his shoulder, right at Leorio and Melody. He was in the doorway of the back seat, blocking the view of Kurapika from the others. “Oh thank god.”

“How is he?”

“Not good. Yesterday, he got shot in the leg while we were defending the car from some assholes, and we patched his leg up as best we could and stopped the bleeding. A little less than a few minutes ago, we checked up on Kurapika and he was bleeding again.” It was clear there was more to tell, but not when there were so many people around.

Leorio nodded, glancing over to look at Kurapika in the car. He was laying with his legs flat across the leather seats, back against the opposing door. It was clear he was dirty as all hell, as were Melody and Basho, but he looked sweatier than then, as well as more worn-out and exhausted. Some of the color was drained from his face as he glanced to meet his gaze, his frown deepening as they locked eyes.

“I don’t need your help, Leorio. I swear to god, I’m alright!”

One glance at Kurapika’s wound told him otherwise. In his right leg, there was a hole, and it didn’t seem clean-through either. It was bleeding a bit, but it seemed like Basho managed to slow it down a bit for the moment being.

“Basho, pick him up and follow me to my office.” He didn’t even wait for him to nod before he turned and started rushing, figuring he could prepare the office as best he could with the few extra seconds he would get from Basho lagging behind. Cries of refusal could be heard from the Kurta as he rushed past the crowd of people, but they continued to follow him as he past the crowd of people who were now moving to get the supplies that were stored in the trunk.

As they got further and further away from the group of people and it was just those three, Leorio glanced over his shoulder at Basho who was right at his heels, hauling Kurapika bridal-style. “So, ‘the hell did you do to get yourself to start bleeding again, Kurapika?”

“I didn’t do anythi-“

“Bullshit. I’m your doctor, so you need to tell me this shit so I can fix you up properly. I may deal with your stubborn shit typically, but not when it could mean your life or not.” That shut up any retorts Kurapika had, and he just hissed under his breath from what Kurapika assumed was the pain from his wound.

“… I have the bullet from the gunshot in my leg still, and I did this before, so I thought I could again…”

“What do you mean by ‘this’?”

He was silent for a moment or two longer before he answered with, in a small voice, “I dug into my wound and tried to pull it out.”

“OK, what the actual fuck Kurapika?!”

“You have to be shitting me!”

Both Leorio and Basho cried out at the same time, both seemingly irritated by him, and for good reason. The blond just glanced away from both males, muttering something in a different language neither understood.

“I swear to god, Kurapika… It’s probably angled in your leg now, and I’m going to have to get it out and patch you up, and that is going to be a bitch for both of us.” Even if he was irritated with him, he didn’t have anger in his tone. No, it was more worry mixed with solemnness.

The youngest of the three seemed to get this, and he just stayed as silent as he could until they got to Leorio’s office. Both the running males hurried inside, Basho settling Kurapika down on top of the sheets that would soon need to be washed. Leorio, the meanwhile, got a tray ready and told Basho to get a chair and table ready beside the bed so he could start everything as soon as he got what he needed.

Trying to think on how he was going about this, he was quick to grab a needle, a wire thread, a small bowl, a set of tweezers, as well as some disinfectant and bandages. He also grabbed a slab of wood before looking over at Kurapika as he placed the tray down. “I don’t have anything to numb the pain for you, but I have this wood you can chomp down on when it gets bad," he explained as he made sure the rags he kept near the bedside were still there, which they were.

Huffing for a moment, the teenager stared up at the ceiling. “Looks like Karma’s a bitch, huh… Alright.” He opened his mouth, and Leorio placed it in as he told the younger to be careful, as so he wouldn’t get splinters in his mouth.

“Basho, try to hold him down.” Nothing was questioned as he nodded, holding down the blond as best he could while giving Leorio full access to his right leg.

“Alright, I’ll tell you when I’m going to start doing whatever and tell you what so you can be prepared, OK?” Kurapika nodded as Leorio grabbed a nearby rag and wiped up Kurapika’s wound, pressing down on it for a moment to cease the bleeding momentarily. Even still, he knew that this wouldn’t stay like this for long as he tore at his pants, pulling away so he could get a better view of what he was working with.

 ** _Leaning_** closer, he took the tweezers, gently pulling at the skin over the wound as best as he could. “I’m going to go in and dig out the bullet, but I’m probably going to have to shift it so it isn’t angled anymore.” Glancing over, he saw the blond head bobbing before focusing back in. Leorio took a deep breath before he stuck in the tweezers and began the careful work, being as quick as he could without nicking Kurapika too much and causing him too much pain.

As he did, he could feel Kurapika’s body began to tense and try to instinctively react to the pain, but he was grateful Basho was holding him down for now. He could see the sheets shift slight, assuming Kurapika was clenching down on the sheets as the blood began to pour again from his wound. Leorio was quick, holding down his leg with a hand as he quickly, yet carefully, removed the bullet, and oh god was it a big one. Drenched in blood, he quickly dropped it into the nearby bowl before he began applying pressure to the wound, reassuring Kurapika that it was out, it was out.

He waited until the bleeding lessened greatly, wiping his hands off of Kurapika’s blood quickly before his leg. “OK, I’m going to disinfect the wound next with some peroxide. It’s going to sting really badly, and it’s probably going to puss up, but that’s getting rid of any infections.” His response was a small groan, and he glanced up at Basho who just nodded, encouraging him to keep going.

And so he did. Using the second rag nearby, he dabbed the end of it with the peroxide, warning Kurapika and giving him a countdown before he applied it to the wound. It had him screeching as he knew the younger had to be digging his teeth into the wood now. His leg tensed again, and Basho held him down a bit harder again as the wound pussed up, all which Leorio wiped away with the opposing end of the cloth. He pressed down on it as well once it all ended, making sure nothing would start bleeding again as he got to what he knew would be the worst step of them all.

Looking over, he felt his chest ache for Kurapika as he gave him a quick minute break to recompose himself. He was sweating badly, panting as his teeth lessened its grip on the wood. It was clear he still felt the lingering pain, and the Spanish man of the group sighed before reaching over and resting a hand on top of one of Kurapika’s, which was still clenched onto the bed sheets underneath him, albeit not as tightly as before.

“I’m going to need to stitch this up and then wrap it, and it shouldn’t take too long since it’s just a bullet wound, but it’s going to hurt like a bitch. Do your best not to pass out, OK? It’s going to send your nerves through hell.”

“T… thanks for the warning… I’m glad I get to come back and this is what I get.” Leorio rolled his eyes before gently patting his hand, shifting to grab the needle and wired thread, stringing and tying it through the eye of the needle before he bent down to Kurapika’s wound. He gently dabbed it to make sure the skin was clean, and he warned him that he was going to start on the count of three.

On ‘three’, he really did do as he promised, his needle piercing into the skin. Kurapika’s screams were somewhat muffled by the wood, and Leorio had to do his best to keep Kurapika’s leg from shaking so he could get it through the skin on the other side. He stitched it through a few times, tying it at the end and snapping what was left between his hands so the hell was over for the blond.

 ** _Looking_** over with worry, he ran his hand over the others again, soothing him and telling him it was OK now, that he was done and that he could rest now. He told him this over and over as the tears that welled up before finally slid down his scarred cheeks, dampening his dirty skin and clothes, some of the bedsheets as well. He kept telling him this as he gently wrapped his stitched-up wound, reassuring him everything was alright before running his fingers through his hair.

It was a few minutes until Kurapika’s eyes shut and his breathing eventually evened out, and he was sure he was asleep. Basho got off the bed silently and slowly, making sure not to wake Kurapika up as Leorio quickly gathered the things he needed to clean and all. “Thank you, Leorio… I know that the nurse we had before could have never done that. Thank you for saving him…”

“It’s my job, remember?” He gave Basho a worn-out smile, patting his hand on his arm before turning to leave. He stopped mid-step though, eyes widening.

The two teen boys were scurrying up, eyes wide as well as they muttered out apologies under their breath. Well, Gon did for a moment- Killua seemed too stunned to be able to. Both scurried off before Basho or Leorio could react, and the doctor felt his heart sink at that.

“Did you know they were here, Basho?”

“No, I kept my eyes on Kurapika the entire time.”


	7. Patience is Truly a Virtue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a bit of time, but I have the next chapter's summary points written down, so I know more so what I'm going to write and I'll have an easier time writing it! This is a bit of a relief chapter per say (I think?), and the next chapter will be lovely and you all will love it. B)  
> ALSO! I doubt this will ever happen, but if there's anything related to this fanfiction you made that you'd like to show me, add a comment below with a link to it! I'd love to see anything for this fanfiction! 

Once Kurapika had been taken care of and was resting, Leorio monitored him until he was sure Kurapika could be moved. He was careful to take him upstairs to one of the spare bedrooms since he knew he’d be in recovery for a while and would need the bed in his office for other patients. As of late, especially since news had spread that he saved Kurapika’s life earlier that day, more and more people came to him needing aid. He figured that people probably hadn’t trusted him until they heard what he was capable of, and just knowing these people now trusted him more than ever gave him a great confidence boost, one he felt he needed after everyone was basically ignoring him for his entire stay.

Every hour or so, Leorio would come in to check up on Kurapika, though noticed he was still sleeping through it all. He expected nothing less, but really hoped he would wake up soon so he wouldn’t keep worrying as much. The Spanish male knew he’d be more at ease once he was awake so he could make sure he ate, check him to see how he was doing with recovering and the pain, especially since he was given the pain killers an hour or so that his group found while out scavenging.

While he was finishing cleaning after his last patient, he heard the door open to the front of his home. Leorio went out to greet the person who entered and ask what their issue was, but stopped as soon as he saw it was Jati, Kurapika’s father. “Oh, hello sir,” he said, straightening his back out so his posture didn’t seem so poor. “What brings you here?”

“I came to check up on my son. I’m sure that you know that you know I’m Kurapika’s father by now.” Leorio, of course, nodded.

“Well, he’s sleeping upstairs still. I had to surgically remove the bullet that had entered his wound, and he is sleeping upstairs in one of the guest rooms. He’s going to be there for a while due to his blood loss, and especially since he got shot itself. He isn’t going to be allowed to walk around for a while since he’ll have trouble walking and the limb itself will need to heal for a long time.” How serious he got over this made him not realize that the older male had smiled until he was done talking.

“I’m sure Kurapika hasn’t said this yet, but I think we’re all glad that he picked you up as our new doctor. You’re extremely knowledgeable and we value you.” He rested a hand on his shoulder, and Leorio felt more pride than he felt throughout the day.

He nodded quickly before speaking. “I’m glad to know, sir. Thank you so much.” Jati’s soft smile made him feel a bit better. 

“Well, Gon and Killua will be coming by soon to give both you and Kurapika food. I’m sure you’re hungry since you’ve been so busy with so many people coming by today.” Jati patted his shoulder once more before leaving, to which Leorio said his farewells before deciding now was a good time to check up on Kurapika. Before he did, he went outside and flipped the little sign recently given to him, announcing that his office was closed unless there were extremely urgent cases to care for. It made him feel like he had an actual doctor’s office, not some makeshift one in this apocalyptic world.

When he arrived upstairs into Kurapika’s temporary room, he sighed as he saw him still asleep. Instead of leaving the room again, he pulled a chair up beside the bed before settling down there. His fingers ran through the blond locks, ignoring the fact it was drenched in dry sweat. “Man, when you get up, I’m going to have to help you take a shower,” he muttered out, chuckling at the thought. “You aren’t going to like it at all, but you’ll have to. I don’t have something in my shower to help you stand on your own. I promise I’ll respect your privacy as much as I can though.” Even if the unconscious male didn’t hear him, Leorio felt some form of relief that he said that and apologized for possibly seeing him nude in the near future.

He stayed by his side for a little bit, reading a book from the room that he found until he heard familiar voices downstairs, as well as a nickname that had him sighing to himself. Putting the book down, he got up and left the room before hurrying downstairs. “For the last time, Killua, I’m not an old man!”

“Even if you aren’t, it’s a good way of getting your attention.” Even if the nickname irritated him, it did give him some form of relief. When he saw the white-haired teen this morning, he was silent after everything he heard from his procedure with Kurapika. He had recovered enough to clearly feel better, or to at least put on some sort of façade to fool others to think he was alright. 

“Yeah, well whatever. Jati told me you two were bringing me food for me and Kurapika?” He saw the two teens nod, and seemed relieved as he took the two plates of what seemed to be pizza. “Wait, we’re having pizza?”

“Yeah, I know, it’s amazing! They started making it after you took Kurapika apparently. They found ingredients while out enough to have a night of them, enough for everyone to have three slices!” Gon grin as he explained, even bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I hope you’re fine with plain cheese pizza though.”

Leorio raised an eyebrow before he said, “Of course I am! Hell, I haven’t had pizza in so long that I was beginning to forget what it tasted like.” He put the plates down before hugging the two, thanking them. “I hope you guys are OK as well though… I’m sorry about what you two heard before.”

“Hey, it’s out fault for following you two. It’s our issue, not yours,” Killua muttered out once Leorio pulled back from the hug to get the two plates again. “Thank you though, y’know, for saving him.”

Smiling at those words, he just nodded. “Hey, it’s my job, remember? I’m not going to let anybody die on my watch.”

“I knew it was a good choice for us to not leave you out in the city,” Gon said, though realized what he said sounded a bit crude before waving his hands in the air. “I-I mean I’m not just saying that because of you being a doctor and all! You’re an amazing person too, but you being a doctor and saving lives is a bonus!” Leorio couldn’t help but laugh as Killua just rolled his eyes, pushing at Gon to tell him that they should get going.

“See ‘ya, old man.”

“See you, you little shit.” The sneer he gave matched his tone of voice, and it took all Leorio had not to laugh at Killua’s reaction of a pout as he scurried out with Gon to do who knows what. Once he was sure the two were gone, he went upstairs to deliver what smelt like the best thing he had laid his eyes on in months to his patient.

When he opened the ajar door with his side, the sight of Kurapika’s brown eyes visible had the elder smiling. “Well well, look who’s finally with the living.” That had those brown eyes locked on him, though they quickly shifted to what he was carrying, and he couldn’t help but grin as he saw the child-like look that overcame the blond’s face for a few moments. 

“Is that?...”

“Eeyup. I have to thank you, Melody, and Basho for it though. I can’t believe you guys got enough ingredients to make everyone pizza, enough for every person to have three slices to their name,” Leorio said, tone grateful as he walked over to place the plate down in his lap. The other plate, his own, was placed beside the book he was reading before so he could slowly and carefully help Kurapika adjust so he could sit up properly.

A soft ‘thanks’ passed the younger’s lips as Leorio did that, looking over at him with what he swore was some kind of fondness in his expression. What surprised him more than that, though, was the lingering smile on Kurapika’s lips. He had to do a double take to make sure he wasn’t mistaken, and when he saw that it was real and he wasn’t dreaming, Leorio grinned as wide as he could back at him before digging into some pizza with him, making sure he was feeling alright before engaging in some casual conversation.

Casual conversation? In the back of Leorio’s mind, he recognized this was the first time they had done this, but it just made him feel a bit better. Did he trust him enough now? The smile was indication enough, but even that felt surreal- his smile was so warm, and any distrust seemed to fade away as soon as he did that, making him feel so nice and content, even if the world around them was shit. 

Yes, he knew things were going to be better now as he ate pizza with Kurapika, just like if you were hanging around with one of your friends before everything went to hell.


	8. Everyone Needs to Relax Once in a While

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long AAAAA >^> IRL bs and drama has been keeping me busy... I've been plotting out chapters ahead though so I have more concrete ways to write, and I'm up to Ch 11, starting Ch 12 soon, believe it or not! I've also been writing the chaps in my phone's notes so I can do it whenever inspiration hits me and I have free time >:3c huehuehue~ But yeah, sorry for the delay and read this 'relief' chapter! :D

At first, Kurapika was reluctant to stay with Leorio in his home while he was recovering. The Spanish make could understand why with what he knew about the blond- he liked to rely on himself, and he felt like he was weak, in a vulnerable position otherwise. Of course, he was reassured and convinced that it was a good idea, by Leorio as well as the visiting Basho and Melody two days after they returned. It also seemed that Jati firmly insisted Kurapika do this when he visited that same day, reassuring his son that he would bring him whatever he wanted or needed from their home. That list wasn’t very large; it included a pair of comfortable pajamas, his toothbrush, some change of clothes so he wouldn’t be sitting around in one pair all the time, as well as other things like if you were sleeping over your friend’s house for a week.

At first, Kurapika was quite fussy, and Leorio expected as much. He denied to take a shower at first, even though both knew he needed one solely because the younger didn’t want Leorio to see him in the buff. “Kurapika, I’m your doctor. I’m doing this to help you. Do you want to reek like blood, sweat, and dirt, because I sure as hell don’t want you to.” Of course, this earned him some very menacing and dirty looks, but it eventually got him to take a shower, Leorio helping him however Kurapika needed him to while they showered. While he did though, the air felt tense enough that nothing could cut through it. The doctor made a mental note to ask if he could get a hand bar installed inside of the shower or a seat of some kind.

The second night Kurapika was officially staying at Leorio’s home, the fourth night he had returned from his excursion, was when he had a request for him. “Leorio?”

“Hm?” The dark eyes of the elder of the pair looked over from the book he was reading, a medical one that had been discovered recently.

He could see what looked again like reluctance before he shifted where he laid, pulling the blanket his father grabbed for him from his house off of himself. It was held up in the air as he looked from it to Leorio a bit expectantly. “Can you do something for me?”

“Yeah, sure.” Within seconds, the book’s page was marked, the informational book down on the table in the room, and Leorio was holding the blanket with a curious expression. “Do you need a new blanket or something?”

“No no, not that. Can you go to the wash room with them? Tell the person working that I sent you and then wait until they’re done. You should take a blanket of your own as well.”

Of course the elder was confused, and it was evident on his face, but he refused to let it show once he realized it. Before he left, he checked to make sure Kurapika didn’t need anything else. “Alright, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” With that, he hurried, grabbing a quilt he had grown fond of the past month of living here before hurrying to the home a few blocks away that had been converted to the community wash room.

When he walked in, he saw a blond male there, seeming to have a beaming smile as he was finishing folding some laundry up, the washer running in the background. He suddenly spoke up, startling Leorio with his cheerful, “Hello! You’re Leorio, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” he said, giving a forced smile to the other as he walked over.

“It’s nice to finally formally meet our doctor. I’m Shalnark.” A hand was held out to Leorio to shake, and he did just that as he shifted the blanket and quilt under an arm.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Shalnark.” He noticed the male’s eyes shift and focus on on his load there, and he smiled softly before holding the bundle in both arms. “Ah, Kurapika sent me here,” he explained, hoping that would suffice.

It seemed to as the look of recognition crossed over Shalnark’s face, followed by an exclamation of the same suit. “Oh, alright!” He politely took the sheets from Leorio’s hold then, putting them into the dryer. Leorio watched as he bent down, opened the drawer beneath the dryer, and pulled two purple-hued sheets out before placing them into the dryer.

“What are you doing?” he finally asked as the fairer skinned of the two started to turn the dials and started the machine up.

“Oh, of course Kurapika wouldn’t tell.” A sigh passed the other’s lips before he turned around, focusing his gaze at Leorio. “He likes to sometimes have his sheets put into the dryer with these lavender sheets so they’re warm and can soothe him. I was honestly wondering when he would send someone down to do this for him. Honestly, I should of expected him to send you since you’re staying with him and all, though he’s only told Gon and Killua about this before, probably to quell their anxiety.”

“Really?” Even if it wasn’t said, he felt like he had just been let in on a secret, a personal one. Shalnark’s nodding only had him feeling that inward statement was a solid fact.

After this point, the two proceeded to continue their idle chatter for a while longer, half an hour at the very most. Their talk, one that had been on the topic of the pizza from before, was cut short by the beeping tone of the dryer. “Ah, they’re done!”

It wasn’t much longer after that that Leorio was holding a bundle of warm, soothing sheets that he could just nestle close to and let relax him to sleep. Again, it didn’t take too long to get back to his house, closing the door behind him with a foot as he walked upstairs. “Honey, I’m home!”

“Oh hah. Are you sure you weren’t trying to be a comedian before the world went to shit?” was Kurapika’s response from the room he was in. That had the eyes of Leorio rolling as he walked in, holding the bundle.

“No, but maybe I could try to be one now. The crowd wouldn’t be too big, and I wouldn’t have too many fans, but I’m pretty sure I’d kill it out there.”

“Dear god, you’re the worst!” Leorio was laughing then, grinning down at the blond before putting the sheets down on his chair.

“Thank you, I’ll be here all week.” A mock bow was given before he took Kurapika’s blanket and tossed it over him. Relief was evident in his expression then, and it could only have the same feeling he gave wash over him.

It was tugged closer, and it was clear that if Kurapika could, he would curl up in a ball underneath the sheets, though they both knew he couldn’t since he was still recovering. “Thank you, Leorio.”

A hand was waved in his direction, dismissing him as he explained, “You’re my patient, so I got to take care of you. If this helps, I’m going to do it. That and I was really curious.”

“Yeah, I used to do this all the time whenever the stress or my anxiety would become too much. My mom showed me this,” he admitted, voice soft once the word ‘mom’ was said.

“Really now? Well it’s a good trick,” Leorio said as he finished wrapping himself in his own quilt, smiling at the warmth that enveloped him. “It’s relaxing me already.”

The younger of the two nodded then, the smile that appeared evident since only his head now remained, the rest covered by the blanket. “That’s good. The lavender is probably helping with that.”

At that, he was able to remember those lavender sheets Shalnark had placed inside. “Yeah, lavender is a good scent that’ll help induce that relaxed feeling.”

“Don’t fall asleep on me now, Leorio,” Kurapika said, even chuckling after as the Spanish male began to curl up under the sheet where he sat. That had him squawking and recomposing himself to sit up more, to seem more professional.

“I’m not going to fall asleep yet!”

“You can if you want to, but I don’t think falling asleep in a wooden chair would be the best thing for you, right? I’d figure you’d know that as a doctor.”

Leorio’s face was definitely a bit warmer then, flustered as he glanced away. “Yes, I do know that. No need to be such a smart ass with your doctor.”

“Hey, I don’t want my doctor to not be in tip-top shape. I’d rather him be completely healthy, you know.”

“Yeah, I’d want my doctor to be like that as well.” Sighing, Leorio sat up now as he glanced down at Kurapika, watching him nuzzle closer to his blanket then. “You should sleep at least.”

“You think so?” 

“Well, I wouldn’t be saying it unless I thought so,” he huffed pout, even pouting, not even noticing that it brought a hint of a smile to Kurapika’s lips as he did that. “Sleep will help you recover sooner. That’s why you should always sleep a shit ton when you’re ill.”

“Alright, alright, if it’ll get you off my case.” Even if the words could be taken as a negative, there was no hint of any venomous tone, nor any negatives to be taken as the blond looked over at him. “You should sleep as well then. Sound like a fair deal?”

Leorio couldn’t help laughing at that. “A fair deal? How? You’re the patient and I’m telling you what you should be doing to feel better. Most doctors were used to getting no sleep in case they had to be called in for emergencies.”

“Even more of a reason for you to be sleeping. What if there is an emergency that happens? You need to be ready for it,” Kurapika countered, and Leorio wanted to keep playfully arguing with him, but decided he actually did want to sleep, and the lavender scent wasn’t helping with that as he felt his eyelids starting to become heavier.

“Fine, I’ll sleep, but only so you will get off my case as well.” The smirk evident on Kurapika’s face was something Leorio hoped he would get to see again and wouldn’t get sick of, though he knew by how he looked that it was typically something you’d see when he won or was being a smart ass and was comfortable with you. With that logic, he probably would see it a lot and get irritated by it. 

He got up then, stretching before patting Kurapika’s head, grinning as he earned a whine from his patient. “Sleep well, Kurapika. Good night.”

“Good night to you as well, Leorio.”


	9. Wash On, Wash Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Again, sorry for the wait, but I hope you enjoy this update! The next update will have lots more fluff and good shit. B)

Leorio got Kurapika on crutches a day or two after he found out about the heated blankets. He had been scrummaging through some of the old things the old nurse piled into this closet, a horrendous mess he wasn't ready to divulge into ever since he saw it. Since he had spare time, he figured he would, eventually finding the crutches under piles of boxes that previously contained samples of cardiovascular-aiding drugs. 

Before he dared to take them to Kurapika, he found pillows that weren't being used and duct tape, bending them over the handles and taping then stable there. He knew how painful crutches could be after a while, so anything to ease the pain would be appreciated. Plus, Kurapika would be aching enough, so there was no need to add pains on his shoulder and armpit area to his list. 

When he gave them to Kurapika, relief seemed to spread across his face since it meant he could finally move around- well, once he was well enough to. "You aren't ready to yet, but once you are, you can use that," Leorio said as he put the crutches up and leaning against the wall.

"I would be able to if you found a wheelchair, but I guess your scavenging skills weren't good enough to find one." Despite the teasing tone, eyes were narrowed over at Kurapika who acted as if he didn't just insult Leorio in a playful sense. 

"Maybe I'll just take these crutches then since you aren't that grateful," the doctor started, taking them and acting as if he was going to walk out with them. Eyes narrowed at Leorio in return, causing him to grin. 

"You wouldn't dare."

"You're right, I wouldn't. I'm such a nice guy." The crutches were placed back as the blond rolled his eyes at the Spanish male.

"Oh yes, definitely. I really wanted to be able to go though so I could see your first lesson with Killua and Gon."

Leorio looked over at Kurapika, surprise evident in his expression before he cleared his throat, smiling now, or maybe he was giving a shit grin. "You can come, but I'd have to carry you."

"Oh, I would adore that," Kurapika relied, sarcasm practically dripping from his tone before he sat up as best he could on bed. "I really want to see how you do though, so carry me around like the royalty I am."

Scoffing at that, Leorio held his tongue from any snarky remarks back in favor of making sure Kurapika was dressed and ready to go. "Do you want me to bring a chair?"

"It would be preferable over sitting in the dirt and grass, thank you." 

In under half an hour, Leorio was leaving with a small bag of a blanket and pillow for Kurapika, water bottles for them both, and snacks as well as that said person in his arms, that blond carrying a foldable chair for him to sit in once they got to the practice site. 

The Kurta guided Leorio there, saying that he used this site to help train others as well. It was an open area, near the building that was originally a community center of sorts. The grass wasn't the most tamed, and there were trees surrounding the large field-like area as if it was the perimeter, almost like a fence. In the middle of the field were Killua and Gon, both wearing sneakers, tank tops, and gym shorts, already practicing their sparring with one another. 

Gon saw them from the corner of his eye, smiling and waving, allowing his guard to be down enough for Killua to swipe away his feet from under him. "Hey!" cried out the teen to the one above him, giving him a cat-like grin before helping him up and waving over to Leorio and Kurapika. 

"Yo. Where's the wedding?" Leorio felt his cheeks warm at this, ready to lash some sort of comeback before Kurapika cut him off. 

"I came to watch and there aren't any wheelchairs. I wanted to see how he does today and how you two do as teachers." As he said that, Kurapika handed the chair to Gon to unfold and place down. Leorio then placed him down and put the backpack of the blanket and pillow by him. 

Making sure the blond was comfortable first, the eldest of he four turned to the couple. "Alright, so what's first? Where are the weapons?"

A loud laugh passed Killua's lips, and how he grinned irritated Leorio slightly. "Old man, you need to know how to fight first before you can even consider weaponry! If you have no weapons and don't know how to defend yourself with only your hands, you're as good as dead!"

Leorio couldn't argue with that, just grumbling under his breath before Killua started to drill him on exercises to do. He really hated how that teen seemed to be enjoying bossing Leorio around as well, especially since Gon nor Kurapika were telling him he needed to not be so bossy or something along that line. Was this going to be how this whole thing was going to go? 

Gon was kind enough to do the exercises with him, though he seemed to have more endurance, stamina, everything compared to him. How he was able to do so well surprised him. The thought that followed this was that Kurapika, Melody, and Basho were supposed to be so much better than him, and he wasn't even able to imagine how they would do and they weren't even done with exercises like burpies and suicide runs. 

By the time it was all done, Leorio was exhausted and was planning on heading to grab a water bottle. Planning was the key word as Killua came around and stopped him, having the elder groan. "What?"

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To drink some water."

"Only if you drink the whole bottle."

"What? Why?" The authority Killua deemed himself to have over him was really pissing him off by now. 

"Didn't you ever hear that people who hiked on Mt.Everest were found and they often had half-drunk water bottles with them? They died of dehydration, even though they had water. Conserving it isn't good, and you need to give your body all the water it needs at once. You can only drink if you down the whole bottle, and if you don't, no more water for the rest of the session and more exercises!"

"What?! That's no fair!" Leorio screeched out, even if he could understand what he was saying. It wasn't like he was dying of dehydration after all and he was a doctor after all- well, sort of, but any bit mattered.

"Thirty burpies for questioning me!"

"Killua, you're being way too harsh!" Gon cried out as he pouted over at his boyfriend. "Kurapika never was this strict with us."

"Yeah, but he's an adult and our doctor! If he's going to be trained, he needs to know what the fuck he's doing. He's too important to lose, as a doctor and a fri- I mean as a freaking important doctor at that."

Killua's genuine concern and how well out he had this thought out surprised Leorio, causing him to stare at the teen. He quickly glanced away from Leorio and Gon then, pouting all the while. "So yeah, drink it all or don't drink yet!"

"I think I'll wait a bit longer, I'm not that thirsty," Leorio said with a soft smile, stretching his lanky arms above his head. 

"OK, then I'll go over some techniques with you then!" Gon said as he smiled up at Leorio, gesturing him over a littles away to show him some simple jabs, perries, and kicks. As they did, Gon explained to the elder that he and Killua had learned these in their karate classes they took together and that it was quite good to know. 

Leorio didn't disagree with him, even mentioning how he had wanted to learn how to do this but never had the money when growing up to take classes. "I get to learn all this for free now," he commented with a little grin, having the younger roll his eyes as he drilled him to try doing some more roundhouse kicks but to keep his balance and not wobble. It was difficult for Leorio, but he managed after some correcting and some more practice wth Gon's guidance. 

"Way to go Leorio!" he cheered with a huge smile, and it was quite contagious, having Leorio smile just as wide. 

"It's thanks to you that I did so well," Leorio said in return, patting the younger's head with a chuckle. 

"Well, let's see how well you put those Ito practice. You're going to spar with us now," Killua said as he came over from where he had been watching with Kurapika to the side. "You're going with Gon first and then me."

Near instantly, that had Leorio worried. "Isn't just learning everything enough for today?"

"Nu-uh! Application is key!" Gon was adamant about that, pouting even before the doctor groaned. 

"Fine, fine, but let me drink my water first." His teachers seemed to agree to this, dismissing him for now to go do just that. 

When he finally made his way over to Kurapika, he let out a long groan. The chuckle he got in response had Leorio shooting a glare down at the injured male before picking a water bottle out. "Hey, shut up."

"I'm sorry." He clearly wasn't. Rolling his eyes in response, the lanky make just downed his entire water bottle, taking a deep, refreshing breath in then out once he finished. "Oh, and just so you know, you aren't going to win against Gon and Killua, not for a while."

"I figured that much out when they told me indirectly that you were the one to train them. Why did you think I was trying to get out of doing this?"

He earned another chuckle from the blond before he shooed him off. "You better hurry and get your ass whooping over with then. Your teachers are becoming impatient."

"Honestly, I didn't think I'd need to learn anything else from teachers after most of mine became the dead." With that, Leorio out his empty water bottle in the bag before going back over to where Gon was hollering for him. 

"OK, time to spar!" Gon announced before eagerly clapping his hands together. Some sort of light glistened in his eyes as he said that, making him even more worried. "You get to spar with me first! Your goal is to be able to get me down to the ground and for me not to get you down to the ground!"

"Oh yeah, I'll make sure not to." His confidence was as false as he made it out to be because not even ten seconds in, Gon had him down in the dirt, glasses flown off into some ant pile nearby as he got a mouthful of grass. It didn't help that he heard Killua falling down and hollering in laughter just behind him. 

"Are you sure you can handle this? Or are you going to throw your back out?"

"I'm not old, you little shit!" Leorio huffed out as he nearly hopped up onto his feet, having some welcomed aid from Gon because shit, that really did hurt! How strong was this kid?

"Here." Leorio's glasses were handed to him from the teen that just kicked his ass- literally. A 'thanks' passed his lips as he got off any of the remaining ants and dirt before putting it back on. 

"OK, I lost. Is the class over for today?"

"You wish. You have to spar with both of us," Killua said with a grin, cracking his neck before getting into his own fighting stance. "I'll even let you have the first move."

"Oh, how kind of you," Leorio said, sarcasm dripping from his tone as he stretched his arms out, cracking his back and feeing relief spread throughout him before getting into his own stance. 

He moved and was aiming to kick his side, but he couldn't. Time seemed to slow down for him as Killua suddenly shifted, so fast that he didn't realize he did until he felt his leg he was balancing on being kicked out from underneath him. He only saw him again once his back hit the ground roughly, bouncing for a second before he saw that shit grin looking down at him, casting a shadow over his face. 

"Nice try, but you need to be faster than that. You need to expect your opponent to play dirty too. Not everyone follows the rules of karate like Gon you know." With that, he was helped back up onto his feet, Killua holding his hand and helping to practically lift him back up. 

Leorio muttered out a 'thanks' in between his irritated grumbles. He dusted the dirt and grass blades off him as best he could, though Gon helped to get them off his back. "Thanks Gon."

"Hey Leorio, don't worry over the fact we beat you. We've been doing karate since we were little, and Kurapika learned some fancy fighting, and we learned from him too! You did really good today," he reassured before patting his arm like a teacher would with their student, though it was awkward just like those were. 

"Ah, thanks," he said meekly in reply, forcing a smile for him. Gon seemed satisfied enough, showing off his pearly whites in return before hurrying over to Killua. 

"We'll do this again the day after tomorrow, same time, same place. This'll be an every-other-day thing unless we aren't here, then we do it the day after we get back, got it?" Killua instructed as he looked at the eldest of the group, hands on his sides in a bossy, semi-stern manner. 

"Yes," sighed out the Spanish male, going back over to Kurapika to take his bag and Kurapika himself back home. 

With his help, Leorio was able to get Kurapika in his arms, the blond holding his chair again and Leorio the bag with the water, pillow, and blanket that he relaxed. "You know, you did do very well for your first time," Kurapika said as Leorio began trekking back. "Hell, you're still carrying be after all that. I'd say you're doing a damn good job."

"Thanks, but as soon as I'm back, you're going in bed and I'm taking a long ass nap, so if you need me to do anything else for you or get anything, tell me before I plop you down." 

"Some food and cocoa would be nice."

"Hah, no." He only rolled his eyes as the younger jokingly pouted, continuing his tiring trek back to his office home, where he was grateful especially for the bed he slept in that was just washed with lavender-scented sheets.


	10. Brick by Brick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got this chapter out faster than the others! I'm so glad! The next chapter will be a lot longer so it'll take longer to release! Though there is some more fluff and niceness in here so enjoy! >:3c

From that day they started training, everyone kept their promise; every other day, they would meet out in the open field fenced in by trees and train. They would start with stretches, exercise, water break, then spar before performing cooling down stretches- Kurapika told the two they had forgotten to do that, though they remembered enough when their bodies ached more than usual after their sessions. 

While Leorio trained his skills, he was also helping Kurapika and testing more of his own medical skills. He had learned some physical therapy during his time of a doctor and it was definitely helpful. A regiment had begun between Kurapika and Leorio as he implemented physical therapy to help slowly strengthen his leg again. This was done every morning and evening with stretches, slow and careful as go not hurt him. Once he was good enough there, they tried walking, enough to the point where the blond would walk around with the aid of the cushioned crutches. 

They carried this out with small walks around the office-home inside. During the course of those days, residents of the community came in and requested Leorio's aid as usual. While they were being helped, they all thanked Leorio, showing their gratitude in words and some who were more outgoing and passionate in the form of hugs. Others were more professional, shaking his hand with their words of thanks. All of that was well received from Leorio, though the community doctor didn't notice how Kurapika was taking it until later on. 

The two were sitting in Leorio's living room, Kurapika with his injured leg elevated, on the couch as both were reading books in peace. Kurapika had his father bring them a few days prior and allowed Leorio to read them with him, something that would seem minor to others. The Spanish male knew better than to brush it under the rug; Kurapika sharing his belongings with someone had to be a big deal to someone who was reserved to others. 

Leorio was so enveloped in what he was reading, a tale of mythology in the modern world- well, what was once considered it- that he almost didn't hear Kurapika calling his name. 

"Hey, Leorio!" That sudden cry and the shove that had him falling back against the couch cushion had him focusing in on the blond. 

"The hell was that for?!"

"You weren't listening, and don't get so mad. It was just a small shove." Kurapika's eyes were rolling before he seemed to say what he wanted to. "I... I wanted to tell you that after everything that's happened and that I've heard and seen, you're no longer on house suspension."

Thise words took a few moments for Leorio to truly process before he stared at the shorter of the pair in disbelief. "... Really? I thought you were going to keep me as a prisoner here forever."

"No, I'm not a dictator." He quickly shot Leorio a look when an eyebrow was raised at the statement. "I'm not!"

"Whatever you say, sir," Leorio said, teasing him as he did so. 

A scoff passed Kurapika's lips before he pushed lightly at his shoulder. "Anyway, you can walk around as you wish, just not while you're caring for me please. I need my personal Life Alert."

"Oh my god, I nearly forgot about those commercials!" Leorio hollered out with a bark of laughter proceeding. "So you're really the old man here hen, huh."

"Shut up!" Kurapika said, nearly with a whine as he shoved Leorio's shoulder again, only encouraging the laughter. In fact, it was contagious, having the blond and raven-haired males laughing together on the ratty couch. 

"Since you are off the suspension though, there is a place I'd like to show you." An eyebrow was raised in curiosity by Leorio before he stood, helping Kurapika out and onto his crutches as well. 

"Lead the way then." With his arms outstretched in invitation, the two then walked together, Leorio always holding open the door or making sure the walkway ahead was alright for Kurapika to walk on. The sight had the younger gazing fondly at the male every now and then, though it was brief and not long enough for anyone to notice. 

It took them some time due to Kurapika's handicap but they eventually made it, arriving at a bush-covered area. 

"Uh, the hell are we doing here? I may like the environment, but I'm not all for staring at a bush all day."

"Oh hush. Shift the bush." 

"As you wish, sire." As Kurapika rolled his eyes, Leorio did as he instructed, surprised to see a walkway to a vacant but protected area of the community. 

As he gawked at he sight, Kurapika moved through the clear area before looking back at Leorio, waving his arm in invitation. "Don't just stand there, let's get moving." That seemed to pull Leorio out of it before he followed him along the path, seemingly littered with flowers and weeds that looked like they could be flowers. 

The path was of dirt, so the elder was sure to double check that Kurapika could walk along certain spots, always being the cautious type that he was when someone was injured. It didn't take long for them to reach a sort of hill, one that let them overlook the wall and focus on what was now the setting sun over the horizon of trees. Hues of violet, magenta, golds and all filled the sky and hit along the edges of the forest top, creating a beautiful scene before the two. 

"Oh wow..."

"A lot more exciting than staring at bushes?" Kurapika asked as he glanced at Leorio. 

"Definitely." Leorio broke his gaze from the sight before looking at Kurapika. "Why did you want to show me this?"

"I liked to watch the sunset before the world went to shit. I remembered it today and wanted someone to watch it with. Can you help me sit?"

"Oh, of course!" He brushed away the flattering shock that overtook him moments ago to help Kurapika sit on the hill, making sure he was all good before settling beside him. "That still doesn't answer my question."

Kurapika glanced over at him, an eyebrow raised before looking back at the sunset, humming. "Mm... Well, you were already there with me and you're someone I could enjoy a sunset with. At least that's what I assumed, you know. Was I wrong in thinking that?"

"Oh no, not at all. I never had a chance to take the time out of my schedule before to just watch the sunset. I always wanted to climb up onto the roof of our home or sit on the balcony of my apartment but I was always either helping my family out or doing schoolwork at home or when I was in my apartment, I was too busy studying or working. I guess this is an odd plus of the world going to shit."

"Wow... Nice way of trying to be an optimist in the fucking zombie apocalypse."

"Shut the hell up," he said with the roll of his eyes, glancing over to see Kurapika smiling over at him- it was as dazzling as ever, and the fading colors of the sunset reflecting against his skin, the scarred skin and unscarred, facial features, and hair made him seem like a painted masterpiece. "You know what I mean."

"Mm not really. I always got my shit done as soon as I got home and did some of my homework whenever I had free time during the school day. It left me time to help my family out yes, and I never had a job, but I would also have time to be with my friend Pairo. He used to come and watch the sunsets with me- well, not exactly..."

"What do you mean?" Leorio asked as his full attention was on Kurapika, head tilted to the side as he asked. 

A long and deep sigh passed Kurapika's lips before he momentarily shut his eyes. "He was blind since he was 10 and I was 12. We got into an accident when playing and it made him partially blind." His lips pursed, the air somewhat tense before he tried breaking it by lightening the mood. "Even still, he loved coming with me during sunset here. He said that, and I quote, 'Even if I can't see it, I remember what it looks like and the feeling of the fading warmth is nice. Plus, if I can be with my best friend, I'll gladly go anywhere with you.'

"He really was such a sweet friend..." Leorio didn't need him to elaborate to figure out much else. Instead of asking further, he decided to instead rub circles into his back, giving him a small smile of reassurance. 

"He sounded like an amazing friend."

"He was..." A small sniffle escaped Kurapika before he opened his eyes and looked at Leorio, a softer, kind smile on his lips while his eyes were starting to become red rimmed with the tears beginning to fall. The Spanish male was quick to gently wipe away the salty water, earning himself a quick 'thanks' from Kurapika as he decomposed himself. 

"Sorry, I sort of went off on a tangent there."

"Don't worry about it Kurapika... Thank you for telling me that." 

"Mhmm." The blond smiled wider then before he turned to watch the sunset with Leorio, even shifting with the doctor's help so that he could rest his head on his shoulder as the two watched the sunset together.


	11. Climbing up the Ranks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a while, but writer's block and busying work and school schedules (esp with exams this/next week) is stressful. X-X I hope this chapter'll be up to everyone's liking!!

After such a warming evening of watching the sunset with the guy who, even though he broke his nose and was a complete assbag to him at first, he was crushing, Leorio was a bit peppier in his step during his sparring session. Gon and Killua were no fools either, picking up on this, so they tried to question him about it in their own ways during their training and lessons. 

Gon, of course, was blatant with what he knew. "Leorio, you're really happy today," he said as he started to spar with him. "Why's that?"

"Are you saying I'm not really happy most days?"

"Yeah. You're never this happy, and you're normally groaning by the time sparring comes." Leorio had improved overtime, since when they first started, he was taken down easily. After all, it had been a few weeks, probably closer to a little over a month, since they had started this routine. He and Killua decided the questioning would help in his training. After all, someone might try to psych him out and get him to be caught off guard, something that could result in his loss. 

A large huff passed the man's lips as he looked at Gon, perying one of his jabs and turning to continue facing him. "Something happened 'is all." Of course, Leorio wasn't stupid. Plus, Gon was really loud so he overheard their little ruse right away. "There's no need to be nosy in my business."

"I'm not trying to be!" Another attack was avoided and blocked, and Gon wasn't noticing he was all on the offensive and Leorio was taking the defensive side. "I can't help but be curious."

"You really wanna know?" If Gon wanted to play dirty tricks, he would play them back. "Me and Kurapika watched the sunset together last night."

"What?!"

Bingo. With the opening he got from Gon being caught off guard, he was able to kick his legs out from underneath him and put a foot on his chest, using the strength he had over him to keep him down. "Next time, try not to make your plans with Killua so loud."

"But you and Kurapika watched the sunset together?!" Not even impressed by this being the first time he was taken down and more focused on what he said to get him there... Ah, so like Gon. It hurt for a second too. He was working hard to take one of these kids down and no praise!

"Yes, I thought I spoke very clearly."

"Woah!" Sighing, the elder removed his foot from Gon's chest, helping him up with a single hand and his strength that definitely grew during his training. He was quick to brush the dirt off of Gon's chest his foot left while Killua made his way over. 

The Spanish make was taken off guard now, the pat on his back so strong and brutish. "Nice job! Never did I think you'd take Gon down or have the brains to use mind tricks with him!" He wasn't so sure if he was being complimented or insulted or if Killua was even just trying to joke this up. 

"Thanks, I think."

All he got in return was a trademarked grin, which didn't clear any of his confusion up. Instead, he was asked a question. "So you and Kura actually watched the sunset, huh. Were you two smoochin', huh?" His hands were held together and held near his face, making kissy lips and the appropriate noises to go along with the teasing he was providing. 

"What?! No! It wasn't anything at all like that!"

"Mhmm, suuuure."

"Really, it wasn't!" Sure, it was quite intimate, but not all in the way Leorio oh so secretly hoped for. They hadn't been cuddling, exchanging kisses, his hand hadn't been rubbing soothingly against Kurapika's side...

"You wish it was though, huh? You got the love bug with KP real bad," Killua said, a finger pointed over at him. "Man, do I feel bad for you."

"I don't like that little shit like that, geez."

"You may say that but you're as easy to read as a book," Killua pointed out as he had a finger out at him. "Your expressions give it all away. Sometimes it's good to be expressionate, but not when you're trying to hide your feelings. You should just flat out say it instead."

Of course Leorio wouldn't, he was too stubborn to consider it and he didn't know if Kurapika felt the same way. What if he hated him for it? Told him to get over it? After all, he got a lot more solemn and tried not to be so emotional, that much was obvious. 

"If you're unsure of anything, just ask him yourself."

"Would you quit doing that?!"

A laugh passed Killua's lips at Leorio's squawking. Of course he wouldn't stop, but it was trying that counted... right? "Seriously though, you need to ask him. Communication is key in any good relationship, even as friends, boyfriends, family, whatever you are."

"Since when did fifteen year olds give such good advice?"

"Because I've learned it myself, I dunno," was his casual reply with a shrug. "Just don't waste the advice I'm giving you, got  
It?"

"Yeah yeah, no need to be so hostile."

"Aaanyway, I think since you finally beat Gon and took him down, you can start using weapons next time." 

Leorio's eyes widened at that. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah! We'll start with the basics and build up from there! It'll be fun!" Gon pronounced with a grin. "But we're gonna be sparring still. We're just going to be adding it after or before your sparring. We just don't know when yet."

Nodding in understanding there, they decided to cut the session off short there and they let Leorio go. "Don't forget to talk with Kurapika," Killua said with insistence as he left while Gon waved.

"Yeah, I know. You sound like a broken record." A bird was given his way that he sent back before before Leorio focused on the sidewalks back to his little office-home. 

It didn't take too long, but they had been out late so it was nearing dinner time when he returned. He hurried up the stairs to his home above, calling out to Kurapika when he did so. "I'm back."

"Hello. They didn't beat you up too bad, right?" Kurapika called from the room he was staying in where he was lying in bed, a book now resting in his lap as Leorio walked in. 

"Hah hah, no. I actually managed to get Gon down." That had the Kurta's eyes widening, something he grinned at. "Didn't expect that huh?"

"Honestly, no I didn't."

"I'm just chock full of surprises," the male said before sitting down on the edge of Kurapika's bed. "How are you feeling today?"

"A lot better than the last time you asked me this morning." 

Leorio scoffed at that before rolling his eyes. "I'm a doctor- I worry and consistently check on my patients, especially when I care about them."

"Oh, you flatter me, Paladiknight, my knight in flannel."

"I try," he said with a grin back at Kurapika's slight sarcasm. "But why not knight in shining armor?"

"If anything, I'd say knight in damaged armor because that means you went through hell but shining can be interpreted as they didn't do shit."

"Maybe I wanted to look good for my stuck-up prince and cleaned up myself before entering your room," Leorio offered, "Unless you think I wouldn't."

"Mm... You don't make the best first impressions."

"Well neither do you! You broke my damn nose and threatened to leave me to die!"

"I was worried about our supplies and you were a stranger. Granted, maybe I was a little harsh-"

"-More like extremely harsh-"

"-But I've gotten better!"

"Mm... Yeah, you have. You warmed up to me quite a bit, pequeño."

How Kurapika was staring at Leorio then had the Spanish male grinning and giggling. "What did you say?"

"You'd know if you took any Spanish classes in high school, pequeño."

"Knock it off!" Laughter just passed Leorio's lips as he patted the blond's head for a few moments. "Seriously," Kurapika whined out. 

"But pequeño, you're so fun to mess with. Your reactions are the best." They were having a staring contest then, narrowed brown eyes staring up at what looked like a dark blue hue that belonged to a grinning individual. 

Both stayed like this until Kurapika gently pushed Leorio, causing him to yelp for a moment as he kept himself from falling off the bed. "Wow, cheater."

"I'm not a cheater."

Instead of arguing this further, Leorio just huffed before he heard a familiar voice from downstairs, though not one he enjoyed like Gon and Killua. No, it was that bubble-gum-haired crazed man. "Ugh, Hisoka... I'll be right back, I think he brought our food."

"Make sure he didn't taint it," Kurapika said as Leorio got off the bed and walked out the door, doing a double-fingered salute from his forehead to signify he understood before hurrying down the stairs. 

He was met with the man at the front room of his home, what was the waiting room, holding two trays that contained sandwiches, fruit, and a bottle of water for each. The grin the man who had changed his hair from bubblegum pink to cotton candy blue stood there, having a grin that sent shivers and goosebumps throughout Leorio's body. All he had to do was greet him, get the food, and thank him and he could head back upstairs to Kurapika... At least, that was what he hoped would happen. 

"Oh hello Leorio," he said, his tone sing-songy in only the creepiest of ways, sending even more shivers through his body. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm good, I'm hungry." Walking as close as he had to, he took the trays from Hisoka- well, at least he tries to. Leorio couldn't get them, Hisoka wouldn't let go, a grip like iron on them as he yanked at first to get them. "I'd like to bring the food upstairs so my patient and I could eat." His tone was a bit forced. Leorio wasn't going to have any of what Hisoka was serving, whether he was trying to freak him out or just have fun and amusement and Leorio was just his unfortunate source of that. Unfortunately, it seemed to be a mix of both. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, was I interrupting some private time between you and Kurapika? I truly apologize." If a bold response was expected, Hisoka got one as Leorio's face was red up to the tips of his ears and he yanked the trays to where the water bottles fell on their sides as they were now in the doctor's grip. The grin that grew on Hisoka's face just made the whole ordeal worse for poor Leorio. 

Of course Leorio wanted to spill for Hisoka to get out, but as a doctor, that was frowned upon. A groan passed his lips as he recomposed himself enough to be able to talk to this creepy male without freaking out. In the most polite manner he could at this moment, he spoke up and said, "It's not good to make assumptions. I was just checking up on him. Thank you for the food for us, but I should be going to give him this."

A hum passed the other male's lips as Leorio hurried to the stairwell, beginning to ascend the stairs. "Do not be afraid to admit your feelings, Leorio." How his name was said in such a drawn-out, nearly sexual tone made him yelp as he finished his trek up the stairs. 

"Why do you look so freaked? Did you let Hisoka get to you?" Kurapika asked when Leorio returned to the room with wide eyes and a panicked expression. 

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Oh yeah, he did. Did he say your name in a really weird way?"

"... Define 'weird' because I thought of it in a different way."

A sigh passed the blond's lips as he gave Leorio a look of reassurance. "He's said people he has found 'interest' in's names like that. He's done it to me, Gon, Killua, and a few others. That's why we avoid him."

"Then why the hell did you make him walk me when I was on probation?!"

A shrug was all that Leorio got as an answer, one with an apologetic look. "You suck, Kurapika."

"And you swallow."

There he went, face redder than a tomato as Kurapika was just laughing at the torment he was bringing upon Leorio. "This is no way to treat your doctor!"

"Well I'm doing it."

A huff passed the Spanish male's lips as he sat down on the bed then, holding the trays still. "Well, I might just keep this food all to myself. I've been hungry aaaall day." 

An eyebrow was raised on Kurapika's face as he shrugged. "I didn't think you were the type to let your patient starve." And there was the tray in his lap. 

"You're lucky I'm not an asshole doctor who would do something like that."

"I'm blessed." With that, the two started to eat, casually conversing. 

As they ate, Leorio kept contemplating if he should ask Kurapika of their relationship. He shouldn't have to! I mean it was obvious Kurapika didn't have a thing for him, but it wasn't good to keep his feelings all bottled up, it was unhealthy. But still... What if something went horribly awry? Kurapika could end up hating him if he said he had a huge crush on him! Hell, he would probably just punch him if he flat out said he was pretty or tried to compliment him. Maybe he wouldn't, but he didn't want to take the chance of another broken nose that Kurapika wouldn't put back into place this time around. 

So, instead of asking about their relationship status, he just ate with Kurapika, joking and talking like they typically did now. What they had now was so great, something Leorio didn't want to lose in case Kurapika didn't feel the same way. 

That was understandable, a good reason for his reluctance to ask... Right?


	12. Truth Be Told

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a bit longer since I'm out of school and was used to writing it when I had nothing to do there! I'm trying to find times where it'll hit off, which'll be when my muse hits when not at work, during breaks, etc. Either way, I'm glad with the result of this chapter, even if it was different from my notes! I hope you all enjoy it as well!
> 
> Again, kudos and comments are welcomed, especially comments! If you have any work or anything for this, let me know, and enjoy the chapter! c:

Everyone insisted over the next four months that Leorio fess up already. Apparently it was becoming more and more obvious that he liked Kurapika. Leorio insisted otherwise, but he couldn't help the fond glances that he would give Kurapika when they were together, and Killua and Gon saw that whenever they came over as well as Basho and Melody. It didn't help when he was able to give Kurapika crutches and they started walking around. His words of encouragement were taken as those of support for a lover, which he got flustered over. Honestly though, he was sure some people were doing that to yank at his chain, to get a reaction out of him. Sometimes he wish he wasn't such an open book. 

If everyone else could see it, how come Kurapika couldn't? Maybe he did and he just never spoke up on it. Maybe he didn't even like him in the same way and didn't want to make things awkward since he was his at-home caretaker. That was Leorio's logic on this at least. Yup, because there was no way the shit headed beauty that was Kurapika would like him... Right?

Despite his insecurities and internal turmoil equivalent to that of a lovestruck high school student, he knew there were more important matters at hand. Kurapika was still with Leorio, even though he was on his crutches, due to be off them within the span of a week. He had told him so many times that he could go back home, but the blond acted as if he hadn't heard him or just flat out ignored the whole idea all together.

And so, with a day of tough sparring session and rifle training with Gon and Killua over and done with, he decided to ask Kurapika about it. They were sitting together in his makeshift living room, the Kurta reading a novel titled 'Speak' with some cover of an eye and other facial features. Leorio just finished his shower, so he was in a pair of boxers and a tee as he was drying his hair as he entered the room and settled down beside the blond. "Rereading that book again?"

"It's a good novel, even if some could consider it triggering," Kurapika said as he didn't even look up from his book. "I never get tired of it."

"I can tell that, Belle."

"But I'm not a brunette who lives with a be- scratch that, just not a brunette."

"Oh wow, you jerk." Leorio's sneer couldn't match Kurapika's grin, making his heart flutter and his stomach fill with butterflies. 

Despite that, Leorio asked Kurapika more about the book since he was reluctant to actually read it himself since the contents of it made him shift uncomfortably. It was a good transition, at least in his mind, to what he wanted to ask. 

"You seem uncomfortable to go back home like I'm uncomfortable to read the book." That earned himself a frown from Kurapika, as well as the blond's gaze returning to his novel. "Why?"

"It's in case I need you."

"That's bull shit and we both know that, Kura." His tone was stern, but held good meaning as he looked at the blond. "Tell me why you haven't gone back yet and be honest about it."

There was a pause, a brief one. Leorio had bitten the bullet and finally asked that pressing question. Well, he could of asked his other pressing question, but that was selfish right now compared to helping Kurapika, to figure out what was wrong, what's going on to make him not want to return home. 

It went on, that pause, for a bit longer than Leorio would like. Now he was contemplating whether Kurapika was going to bark at him for being so rude or just punch him. Both of those weren't the truth, and he was surprised as he was looked at with such a solemn and somber expression. 

"The memories there... They're just too painful. I can't stand it, especially since my dad refuses to take down any of the photos or anything, like everything's going to go back to normal one day and my mom will be making breakfast, like Pairo will come back in and whisk us both to work." The pain in his voice nearly made Leorio's heart shatter, especially since he could hear him holding back any tears, despite how his eyes were wet and glistening. "My dad keeps crying at night too, crying and apologizing to no one. Sometimes it's no one, sometimes my mom, sometimes me..."

Leorio placed a hand on his shoulder, bringing Kurapika out of the stupor he was putting himself into. It looked like Kurapika was going to start crying himself. "You can stay here as long as you'd like, you know. You could of just asked. After all, you've sort of made the guest room I had your own. You might as well just keep it at this point."

Surprise was evident on Kurapika's face, seeming to start to calm down now. "Really?"

"Did I not just say you could?" He smiled down at him before patting his shoulder. "Do you want us to go get your stuff so you can fully settle in and call this room your official room?" The nod Kurapika gave him encouraged Leorio to give him a soft smile. "Alright, when?"

"During dinner time." Leorio just nodded in agreement then, not questioning why he did it, even though he could pretty much figure out why in his head- no confrontation. 

They waited until then, eating their sandwiches quicker than normal so Kurapika could lead Leorio over to his house. He assured him there were bags there where they could get his things and bring them over, similar to how things were brought over months ago. Leorio promised the other they would be in and out as quickly as they could, something that seemed to assure the blond. Was it good that he could assure him and that he wanted to stay with him or bad that he even had to, the fact he was too nervous to even be home? 

Once there, Leorio saw it was a one-story home with a plotted grave in front of it- no, there were two. Kurapika just hurried right past them, and he couldn't blame him when he read the names on the wooden nameplates: Farah ( Mom) and Pairo.

"My room is down the hall, at the end to the left," Kurapika informed, letting Leorio go first. He seemed to want him to hurry, not to take time to settle and observe the house as he wanted, natural curiosity taking hold of the Spanish male. Regardless, he took a good glance around, seeing there was a kitchen that was attached to the dining room after the hallway, and before that the living room they were standing in. 

Once he went down the hall, he saw he passed by the functioning laundry room to his first left, a shut door which he assumed was Jati's room to his first right. His last right at the end of the hall showed an office, one that seemed too messy and scattered to be considered that, but the little nameplate on the door told him nope, it was Jati's office. No, 'Daddy's Office' by the childish writing. 

Down the hall as he went, there were pictures that were too happy for now, painfully so. A few of them were of what he could assume was Kurapika as a child, whether he was playing in the pool or winning some award for the spelling bee or the science fair or even something called the history bee? Some were with an unfamiliar brunette child whom he could only assume was Pairo, especially with how Kurapika said they were practically jointed at the hip. It even made him sad to see. Some had Jati with Kurapika, but then some with a blonde woman who seemed like she could make anyone smile, who was so full of life holding Kurapika in a photo, giving him a raspberry. 

Before he could say anything, he heard Kurapika sighing behind him. He startled him, getting so lost in the photos. "Sorry, sorry." Leorio hurried into the room on the left, what he assumed was Kurapika's room from what he was told. 

It had a blue paint to it, a yellow close to a gold trimming on the edges of the walls where it met ceiling, flooring, or anything else to break the blue up. The room was neat, awards still shown up on shelves with a PC and monitor set up on a desk with textbooks even in place. It was like a pristine award kids room, though a scowl was in place on Kurapika's face as he went to his dresser. 

"I told him to not put them back up," he angrily muttered to himself, but Leorio couldn't help but hear it when he passed him. "My bags are in my closet, on the shelf up top."

"Got it." He quickly went to open the door then, seeing the neatly organized clothes in there. He found the white metal shelf, as well as a few duffle bags he took off then. At a glance, he swore he saw a few stuffed animals even, as if they were hidden by whoever cleaned the room before they came back. 

Leorio put one of the bags open on the bed for Kurapika, asking if he needed any help packing it with his dresser clothes. Of course his help was denied as it was angrily stuffed, and it was decided then and there this place was definitely bad for his health. 

The Spanish make went to cleaning out the closet of clothes, putting them in his bags before glancing at the stuffed animals. They seemed loved and cared for, a little worn down from years of ownership but still cared for. He hesitated at first, but took the one that seemed the most loved- a simple little chicken plush that even had a little scarf around its neck that was clearly an at-home project. 

"Anything else you want besides the clothes?" Leorio asked once done packing, seeing Kurapika was nearly done with the violent stuffing of the poor duffle bag. 

There was a pause as Kurapika scanned the room, but he just seemed to hold sadness now instead of the previous anger and rage. "... No. Let's hurry before my dad comes back."

With a nod, he took the bags used and let Kurapika lead the way out. Thankfully, there was no run-in's with Jati on the way out or back to Leorio's place- well, Kurapika and Leorio's place now. That didn't mean he wouldn't come barging in another day, but they were safe for now. 

"I'll get your stuff settled in your room, you just keep reading and relaxing here," was Leorio's orders, even saying it was 'the doctor's orders' to keep Kurapika there and reading his book from before. He knew what the other's organization style was, so he hung everything up and folded it into his dressers as such. 

Once the bags were emptied and put on top of the shelf again, all that was left was the chicken in his hand. Contemplating for a moment, he observed if from all angles, as if that would help him decide what he should do with it now. Finally, he decided to take it with him back into the living room, hands behind his back. 

"Hey Kurapikaaa, I have a surprise for you."

"Oh? But it's not even my birthday."

Leorio just rolled his eyes. "Shut your eyes, you goof." And that he did. As he did, the plush was placed onto his lap as he held a smile. "OK, open."

As soon as Kurapika's eyes hit the plush, a gasp passed his lips. The book was now neglected as he held the chicken in his hands, eyes as wide as plate. "How did you find Cuc- I mean this?"

"I found the little guy in the closet while I was cleaning it out. It looked loved so I took it. I'm guessing you like it?" 

Kurapika just nodded before holding the chicken closer, clearly trying to not get emotional right now. "I- you- ...Thank you Leorio, thank you so much..." 

He just nodded with a soft smile then, watching how much he cared and loved that little bird plush. "How about you and uh... Cuckoo get reacquainted? Did I guess it right?" Kurapika just pouted at that, though didn't deny it as he held Cuckoo closer. "Alright, you two love birds get reacquainted and I'll make you your tea Kurapika."

The glare he got from his joke had Leorio grinning, especially since it was hiding endearment and love, though not too well. "Thank you Leorio..."

A soft smile met that, nodding before hurrying to make Kurapika his tea. After all, he had such a strenuous day, even if it wasn't physically.


	13. Finally Fessing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had such a muse ( and I haven't been able to sleep the past few nights because of intense sunburns ) for the fanfic that I managed to write this within the span of the last chapter's release a few days ago. Honestly, I'm pretty proud of myself, and I think you all will love this chapter. ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿ Also, there's some Jati in this chapter ( and woo, he hasn't been there since the first few chapters )! There will be more of him from now on, by the way! ( ◞･౪･)

Leorio was sure that he was free of any wandering eyes when he went with Kurapika the day before to help him move into their home. He was so sure, but of course he had to be wrong. Seriously, it was like things couldn't ever go exactly as planned for him. 

When he went to get Kurapika's sheets dried in lavender with Machi , since she did the morning shifts in the laundry room while Shalnark did the evening shirts, he ran into Killua and Gon on the way with blankets smelling of the same event. These two were up before seven?! Since when? They always loved to sleep in until right before breakfast.

Whatever force working just seemed to want his buttons to be pushed or something as the tanner of the two kids instantly yelled at him. "LEORIO! HI!"

"God, shut up Gon! The sun hasn't even fully risen yet."

"Oh, sorry Killua!" The other teen sighed before looking at Leorio who was getting his hearing back. 

"Old man, I saw you with Kurapika last night. You two had bags with you. What were you two doing?" 

The sudden question, especially since he was still waking up and was woken up by Kurapika to do this, made him sputter at first. "Well... Kurapika's going to be living with me from now o-"

He was quickly cut off then, catching Leorio off guard again and making his ears ring for a few moments with Gon's yelling. "Wait, you two are living together?! Are you two finally a couple?!"

"Gon, please shush!" That had the child shutting up for the moment, though his eyes seemed to be full of awe and joy as he stared up at Leorio in expectancy. "No, we aren't a couple. We are living together now though. I won't say why because it's something Kurapika might not want anyone knowing, but yeah." Both children seemed to understand this as they nodded, seemingly thinking this over as they glanced between each other and Leorio. 

"Well, we'll leave you to getting Kurapika his blanket. If you want, Gon and I can bring you breakfast."

"That sounds nice, thank you." He was able to be left alone for the most part then, making idle chatter with Machi while the blankets dried and became scent over the topics of how odd Hisoka was and their mutual agreement on how Tonpa was probably some mutated being. They left off on the topic of how Tonpa could be executed without extruding too much of a putrid aroma as Leorio took the finished blankets, returning to Kurapika who was curled up in bed, Cuckoo held close to his chest. 

The sight of it had Leorio's heart nearly slipping a few beats. It seemed he had fallen asleep while waiting for him to return, so he just put the blanket over him. He almost kissed his forehead and he was so tempted to- it was open and free of any of his bangs with how he was lying down! It would have been his golden chance! But no, he had better self control than that...

Well, he thought so until he quickly left the peck on his forehead before hurrying to get his office set up for the morning. Hey, at least Kurapika wasn't awake for that! Oh god, he would of been so dead if he had been. 

"Leorio?"

He froze in the doorway. His flight-or-fight instincts were kicking in then at that moment. Fight with stuttering words and face his problems or run away and distract himself with work?

The choice was obvious! Run the fuck away from his problems and make it that much worse like any sensible human being. He ran all the way downstairs, even tripping on the steps a few times before practically dive bombing into his office. His thoughts were as long as he was here he was safe... Right?

Wrong. 

The sound of Kurapika making his way down the stairs was evident. Leorio thought then he would be safe underneath the bed. He thought he could curl up his long, lanky legs so they wouldn't stick out of the tiny bed. Just how many times was he going to be wrong today?

"Leorio, I can see you. You're too tall and lanky to hide really anywhere." Damnit. It was time to pray to whatever lord above then before he was forced to come out and face the stupid mistake he made. Hopefully his face wouldn't be ruined worse than a broken nose like those months and months ago.

When he crawled out, he was faced with Kurapika there, sitting in the desk chair with his crutches leaning against his desk. His arms were crossed over his chest as he stared at Leorio, though he couldn't read his expression. As always, he was hard to decipher. It had him gulping as he stood slowly, twiddling his fingers together as he smiled nervously over at Kurapika. "Uh... Hi, eheh..."

"You kissed me on the forehead, correct?" Well, he certainly was straight and to the point. With a nod of Leorio's head, Kurapika's questions continued, getting even more so to the point. "Tell me why." Well, this was more a demand than anything else.

Leorio looked everywhere but at Kurapika, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. "Well... My momma always gave me kisses on the forehead when I was in a time of distress to help me feel better." That had the blond's cheeks gain a slight pink hue, but Kurapika's eyes didn't shift from Leorio. 

"It wasn't because of that. You're lying." 

"You're saying I would lie about my momma?!"

"Your lip twitches a little when you lie."

"What?! I thought my posture just got wo-" He instantly shut up then as he shut his mouth, seeing that victorious smirk of the younger. 

"Wow, I didn't think you would lie about your momma like that, Leorio."

"It's partially the truth, but..." A groan passed his lips as he shut his eyes, heart pounding a mile a minute in his chest. His palms were clammy, and he was sure caterpillars must of invaded his belly at some point because butterflies were swarmed in there. 

"But?"

"Geez, calm yourself! I'll tell you!" Or would he? Leorio wasn't even too sure himself. 

What seemed like minutes were actually just seconds that passed before the words left his lips, one that were surely overdue. 

"I... really like you Kurapika. I really do, more than just as a really good friend."

Kurapika's face lit up as soon as the words registered, and the same happened to Leorio. Both were staring at each other, but it was more just Leorio waiting for Kurapika's reaction as he processed this information. 

"... Well?"

"S-shut up Leorio!" A sigh passed Kurapika's lips then as his lips pursed, eyes not even looking at Leorio as he murmured out a response in some foreign language he couldn't understand. 

"Eh?"

"I'm not repeating myself."

"Bullshit! Tell me in English! I told you in English so it's only fair." Kurapika seemed annoyed, his cheeks growing as red as cherry tomatoes now, making the scars littered over his face even more prominent, before he finally spoke up in a language Leorio understood, in words that made his heart skip a few beats. 

"... I like you too, in a romantic way..."

There was a pause, one where the two just seemed to have a stare off. It was Kurapika who broke this semi-awkward silence, his soft-spoken words of before now replaced with near yelling. 

"Are you just not going to say anything about that?! Is that just it?!" Even though it seemed like he was trying to be intimidating, Leorio could see his facade of hiding his emotions breaking. He could see how nervous he was, a slight hint of fear of not knowing what to do, how to react, to try to get Leorio to lead this all. 

If he wanted Leorio to lead, he surely could. He walked over to Kurapika, bending down to his level to look at him in the eyes. Granted, he was probably making it worse, but his selfishness was overcoming him. What had been waiting and building up for months was seeming to overtake him as he stared at the flustered blond below him. 

"Is it OK if I kiss you instead of saying something instead? It's only if you want to, of course."

That seemed to have Kurapika staring even harder at him- was that even possibly?- before he just nodded. He seemed to be at a loss of words, so Leorio let his actions lead instead. His hands reached over and cupped the scarred skin of Kurapika's cheeks, able to finally feel them as his thumbs brushed over the skin.

Thinner lips hovered near the plumper pair Kurapika owned, the ones he admired since he first arrived in this very room, waking up and having the words stolen out of his mouth. Now the tables were turned. How ironic. 

"If you want to stop, just let me know." A small and quick 'mhmm' from Kurapika was the last thing they exchanged verbally before their lips locked in a slow, chaste kiss. What felt like sparks flew, coursing throughout Leorio's body as his eyes shut. Now he had kissed guys and girls before in his life but never once had he experienced those 'sparks' movies and shows talked of. He thought that feeling was purely fictional... well, until now. 

Leorio wanted this to linger, and it was clear Kurapika did too with how his hands shifted to rest against his shoulders. They hung to him and clung, but not in a desperate manner, no. It was something entirely new to him, and it made him smile as he had to pull back for breath. 

The younger stared at the Spanish male in what seemed like wonder and awe as his hands moved to rest on top of Leorio's, what appeared to be a soft smile forming on those plump lips. "That... that was nice. I didn't think you'd be a good kisser."

"We just kissed and you're already ruining the moment by critiqui-" 

Another kiss cut Leorio off, a short and sweet kiss that lingered for a few seconds before he heard the satisfying smack of their lips pulling apart. "Don't take it as an insult. I've never kissed before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Thank you for making it a good kiss."

"O-oh!" Idiot. Wait... Never kissed before?! "... I'm your first kiss?"

Kurapika just looked away with a groan then. "That's what you took from that?"

"That was the main thing of what you just informed me."

"I was hoping you would take the 'good kiss' part from it! But yes, you are. Take that as you may."

Leorio just smiled then, though moved back to give Kurapika room then. "Well I am honored to be your first kiss. But... What does this mean we are now?"

Kurapika looked at him then but quickly looked down into his lap then, a frown evident as he was trying to think it over. "What do you think this means we are?"

"Well, we both like each other and like kissing each other. Typically that means you start dating. Do you want to be boyfriends?"

The blond nodded then, still clearly flustered. Leorio just smiled as he squared down by him, taking his hands in his own before pressing a kiss to the backs of his hands. "I promise to treat you right Kurapika, just like I have been as your doctor."

"I would hope so or I'll kick your ass."

"I would expect nothing less than that." They both managed to smile at one another then before one more kiss was placed, though it was onto one of Kurapika's cheeks. 

Once that settled, Leorio helped Kurapika back upstairs. They sat down and talked for a bit then, about some miscellaneous things as well as relevant hinge in their community. They seemed to sit just s little closer than normal on the couch, and the and seemed to just be a hint different in just a pleasant way. Nothing was different in their conversation or anything, but they knew things were different now, that things would change, and they seemed, no, they were ready for it. 

Well, they thought so until Leorio and Kurapika saw that it wasn't Gon and Killua bringing food like they promised. No, it was Jati instead. 

The blond nearly froze when he saw his father, and Leorio was sure that hey, he was going to get his ass beat by Jati instead of Kurapika. Hopefully Jati was weaker than Kurapika since he was always cooped up here and apparently was a scientist before. Yes, he wouldn't hurt him like Kurapika did when he punched him and broke his nose-

Trays clattering against the coffee table in front of the couch brought Leorio back to. Jati was typically a calm man, always being level headed whenever he saw him, but you could see the rage, even feel if radiate off him despite his calmer expression. His arms were crossed over his chest like a parent about to scold and ground his child, something that Jati probably going to do since his attention and gaze, Leorio now realized, were focused on Kurapika and not him. 

"Kurapika, why is your room emptied of your clothes?" His fingers tapped against his arm, one at a time as he was acting as if Leorio wasn't even there. 

"Why do you think? You aren't stupid." Kurapika's words were like they were lashing at him, a facade of sass there. It had to be a facade because he was so tense where he sat, obvious enough for Leorio to even see it. "To move out permanently. I haven't been there in months, and I see that you redecorated while I was gone."

"Yes, because your things weren't where they were. You threw them into the garbage."

"Well maybe that should have been a hint."

The air was so tense and thick Leorio felt like he couldn't even move from where he sat. His eyes were going between the two like he was a tennis match spectator, looking at each at they spoke their brief piece. He was such a bystander to this with how Jati was treating it, even though he was the one who told him to. No, he couldn't and wouldn't let this continue. 

"-re place is at home once you're all healed up, like always."

"Not if he feels uncomfortable there." Leorio's sudden intrusion into the conversation had both Kurapika and Jati staring, eyes wide in shock. It seemed like Jati had forgotten Leorio was there in his spoken building rage. 

"Leorio, what are you-"

"I have your back Kurapika, don't worry. Let me handle this."

"Let you handle this? This is a matter between me and my son, and I don't much appreciate you butting your nose into something that isn't your business."

"As the doctor here, anything concerning Kurapika's health is my business." He hoped his own facade of not being scared shitless was working as he stood a bit straighter where he sat. "He confessed to me he didn't want to go home after avoiding the topic because he said he felt uncomfortable. You were making him uncomfortable with the painful reminders of the past you're refusing to let go of." Offense was clear in Jati's expression, but Leorio didn't allow himself to be cut off. 

"He was so upset that I felt it wasn't good for his health to stay home. I offered for him to stay here, so don't blame it on him. I went with him during dinner because he feared confronting you at his own home. Your burial site for your wife and Kurapika's best friend, while touching, are the first painful reminders he would have to see daily. The interior of your home only makes it worse with its upkeep like nothing ever happened, with the pictures of the past all up. 

"Kurapika's room was even worse. From what I gathered, Kurapika took down his trophies and put out at least Cuckoo. When we got there to pack his things, you rearranged his room without his permission. His anger and overwhelmingly upset response shows how unsafe it is for Kurapika's health to be there. As his doctor, I will not allow him to be there as long as it upsets him. 

"That doesn't even account for the apologies he hears you crying out at night to him, no one, his mother. Don't you think that's traumatizing for their child to hear? Things aren't as they used to be sir, and you should stop living in the past when clearly you and your son are both extremely traumatized from this new world and whatever experiences you may of shared."

That surely shut Jati up, staring at Leorio with eyes wide as dinner plates. Kurapika was the same, staring at his newfound boyfriend, but with what seemed like awe as well as shock. The parent of the people here just stood up straighter then, looking for only a brief moment at Kurapika before heading towards the stairs, just as if he was taking a walk of shame. 

"Make sure to take care of him here," was all Jati said before disappearing quickly down the stairs, his footsteps heard as he left Leorio's office downstairs and headed outside. 

The elder let out a brief sigh then, slumping all the way back as he muttered out, "Santo cielo..." His gaze looked back over to Kurapika, to where he gave a weary smile to the blond whose eyes were still larger than normal. "Sorry, I couldn't let him keep doing that to you- Unf!"

His arms were out as he was in a sudden hug, one he gladly returned as he held Kurapika a little closer. "Thank you. I just froze up a bit."

"Mm... So, is talking shit your defense mechanism? Sassing?"

"With my Dad."

"Ah, so every time you sass and talk shit to me, it's genuine and not out of worry or fear? Good to know."

"Shut up." They just sat there for a moment then, Leorio patting Kurapika's back for a moment before they recomposed themselves. Even if their plates were a little spilt over from Jati's slamming of their trays, they took their food and began eating it. The air thick minutes ago was slowly relaxing again. They smiled as they ate, even laughing. It only increased when Kurapika made a joke that had orange juice coming out of his nose, cursing in Spanish about how it burned so badly. 

"Sorry," Kurapika said as he had a napkin and was wiping Leorio's nose, a sincere expression of remorse on his face if you excluding his occasional chuckle. 

"Mhmm, sure. You love to make me suffer." Leorio's teasing just had Kurapika grinning as his chuckling shifted to the laughter he found so melodic and soothing.

"Oh yes, it feeds me, fuels me."

"I knew you were truly a sadist deep down once you punched me in the nose." Both of them were laughing by this point, Kurapika having finished with wiping Leorio's achey nose. 

"Mhmm, mhmm."

After their laughter slowly subsided, they stared at each other, a sigh passing their lips. Leorio poked Kurapika's nose for a moment, smiling sweetly down at him before sitting up properly. "Just don't forget that I will be here for you, yeah? I'm not just your doctor and friend now."

"And the same goes to you, except not the doctor bit like you have."

"Roger that. One question though?"

"Mm?"

"Can I have one more kiss?"

"Of course." And kiss once more they did, smiling into it before they pulled back to smile at each other before resuming their first meal of the day, the first meal together as official roommates and boyfriends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) I told you that ya'll would like it.


End file.
